Use of video-based telehealth services using a mobile app for workers in underserved areas during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective observational study

• Published in: International journal of medical informatics (Shannon, Ireland) Ireland), 2022-10, Vol.166, p.104844-104844, Article 104844
• Main Authors: Park, Hyun Sang, Jeong, Sungmoon, Chung, Ho-young, Soh, Jae Young, Hyun, Young Ho, Bang, Seong Hwan, Kim, Hwa Sun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blood Glucose; Cholesterol; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Humans; Lipoproteins, HDL; Medically Underserved Area; Metabolic risk factors; Mobile Applications; Mobile personal health record app; Pandemics; Prospective observational study; Remote Consultation; Triglycerides; Video-based telehealth service
• ISSN: 1386-5056; 1872-8243
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2022.104844

•The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a change in the structure of healthcare services.•Effects of a video-based telehealth app on workers’ health/lifestyle were tested.•Except for HDL cholesterol, metabolic risk factors showed a significant improvement.•Dietary scores showed a significant improvement, but physical activity did not.•The mobile app can help workers access healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has limited face-to-face treatment, triggering a change in the structure of existing healthcare services. Unlike other groups, workers in underserved areas have relatively poor access to healthcare. This study aimed to investigate the effects of video-based telehealth services using a mobile personal health record (PHR) app for vulnerable workers with metabolic risk factors. A prospective observational study was conducted with 117 participants and 27 healthcare professionals for 16 weeks. Participants visited the research institution three times (at weeks 1, 8, and 16) and underwent health check-ups and used various features of the mobile PHR app. Healthcare professionals observed the participants’s data using the monitoring system and performed appropriate interventions. The primary outcome measures were to evaluate the effects of services on changes in the participants’ metabolic risk factors, and secondary outcome measures were to analyze changes in the participants’ lifestyle and service satisfaction, and to observe service use through usage logs. One-way repeated measures ANOVA and Scheffé’s test were performed to observe changes in participants’ health status and lifestyle, and a paired t-test was performed to analyze changes in service satisfaction. Finally, in-depth interviews with healthcare professionals were performed using semi-structured questionnaires to understand service providers’ perspectives after the end of the study. Systolic blood pressure (F = 7.32, P