Page 16 - JSOM Fall 2023

Education in Medicine. In addition, verbal and written con- treatment options ranked second with the same rate (78.7%).
sents were obtained from the participants. On the other hand, 26 (55.3%) participants in the study stated
that telemedicine could be used in all the mentioned areas
Evaluation (drug consultation, diagnosis, treatment, evacuation, educa-
In the study, a survey questionnaire consisting of 17 questions tion, consultation, and triage).
was disseminated to the participants. Participants were blinded
from each other’s answers. The first four questions of the ques- Table 1 shows the frequency and percentages of the branches
tionnaire were prepared to determine the demographic char- that respondents desired to be in a telemedicine center. When
acteristics of the participants. The fifth question was prepared asked which physicians should be in a telemedicine center,
to understand the technological capabilities on hand during a 85.1% of the participants wanted them to be emergency med-
field task. For questions 5–12, the objective was to learn how icine specialists. This was followed by general surgery (83%)
much the participants support telemedicine, what the desired and orthopedics (74.5%), respectively. The least desired spe-
areas of expertise are, which areas telemedicine should serve, cialty was military health services (44.7%).
possible obstacles to telemedicine in our country (Turkey), and
their views on data security. TABLE 1 Areas of Specialization Desired to Have in a Telemedicine
Center
Questions 13 and 14 were prepared in the form of a 5-point Yes No
Likert scale. In question 13, participants were asked to eval- Areas of Specialization N (%) N (%)
uate the telemedicine support for medical branches for which Emergency medicine 40 (85.1%) 7 (14.9%)
there are frequent referrals and for the common diseases on General surgery 39 (83.0%) 8 (17.0%)
the Likert scale. In question 14, the knowledge, attitudes, and Orthopedics 35 (74.5%) 12 (25.5%)
behaviors of the participants about telemedicine were evalu- Internal medicine 34 (72.3%) 13 (27.7%)
ated with a 5-point Likert scale. Likert scale was arranged as
1 (strongly disagree) and 5 (strongly agree). Psychiatry 27 (57.4%) 20 (42.6%)
Chest surgery 25 (53.2%) 22 (46.8%)
Question 15 asked what equipment should be available for Public health 24 (51.1%) 23 (48.9%)
telemedicine. Question 16 was asked as an open-ended ques- Dermatology 24 (51.1%) 23 (48.9%)
tion: which measures should be taken in cases of system-wide Infection disease 22 (46.8%) 25 (53.2%)
abuse. This is a situation that can occur whenever there is a Military health services 21 (44.7%) 26 (55.3%)
relationship of seniority. The last question was again open-
ended, and participants were asked to state their additional It was asked what obstacles could be overcome for telemed-
opinions and suggestions, if any. icine to progress in our country, and technological opportu-
nities took the first place in the answers given (35, 74.5%).
Statistical Analysis Among the other reasons given were difficulties in accepting
The study was designed as a questionnaire study. For descrip- telemedicine and security concerns, respectively (12, 25.5%).
tive statistics, means for continuous data and standard devia-
tions for categorical data, frequencies, and percentages were While 37 (78.7%) participants stated that it would be appro-
used. Scale reliability was evaluated with the Cronbach’s alpha priate to store the obtained data in electronic environment,
internal consistency coefficient (0.97). two participants were undecided, and eight (17%) stated that
this situation was not appropriate.
Data were analyzed with the IBM SPSS 21 (IBM, https://www.
ibm.com/spss) package program. Thirty-six participants stated that the storage of personal data
would be legally and ethically appropriate (76.6%), six par-
ticipants did not find it appropriate (12.8%), and five partici-
Results
pants were undecided (10.6%).
The study consisted of 47 participants, and their mean age was
32.3 ± 3.8 years. All the participants were males. The average As seen in Table 2, the participants stated that, among the “dis-
experience of the participants in the field was 4.6 ± 3.9 years. eases or measures that can be supported with telemedicine,”
In the distribution according to the branches of the military, dermatological diseases can be most supported (4.10 ± 1.02)
there were 40 (85.1%) personnel from Land Forces and seven and neurological diseases can be least supported (3.55 ± 1.07).
personnel from Naval and Air Forces (14.9%). In addition, participants stated that the subject of poisonous
animals/plants could be supported by telemedicine (4.12 ±
Forty-six participants stated that there should be a healthcare 1.03), while indoor air quality could be supported less by tele-
provider/expert opinion to consult about the patient/injured medicine (3.78 ± 1.12).
personnel during field missions (97.7%).
Within the scope of non-combat injuries, the participants
The participants were asked which of the technological op- stated that poisoning (4.23 ± 0.89) and approach to open frac-
tions they had available during the field mission, and 97.9% of ture (4.23 ± 0.87) could be most supported with telemedicine,
them chose the telephone option. Computer, internet, and ra- and dislocation reduction is the subject that can be least sup-
dio usage rates were close to each other, but the satellite phone ported by telemedicine (3.97 ± 1.01).
was the least used (6.4%) tool by the participants.
According to the 5-point Likert scale (Table 3), which was pre-
When asked in which field(s) telemedicine could be used, pared to measure the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of
evacuation took first place (89.4%). Drug consultation and the participants on telemedicine, telemedicine could be used in

14 | JSOM Volume 22, Edition 3 / Fall 2023