Utility of telemedicine in sub-Saharan Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. A rapid review
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Date
2022
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Abstract
Telemedicine is the use of technology to achieve remote care. This review looks at
the utility of telemedicine during the pandemic, period March 2020 to February
2021. Eleven articles met inclusion criteria. There was moderate use of telemedicine
in sub-Sahara Africa during the pandemic, however, there were also some limitations.
Benefits of telemedicine include continuing medical service provision, connecting relatives with loved ones in quarantine, education, and awareness of mental health
issues, and toxicovigilance and infection control. Challenges to the implementation of
telemedicine on the continent were lack of supporting telemedicine framework and
policies, digital barriers, and patient and healthcare personnel biases. To address
these challenges, this article proposes the development of policy frameworks that
fosters telemedicine use by all stakeholders, including medical insurance organizations, the introduction of telemedicine training of medical workers, educational
awareness programs for the public, and improvement of digital platforms access and
affordability.
Description
Keywords
Rapid review, Telemedicine, Utility, Policy frameworks
Citation
Chitungo, I., Mhango, M., Mbunge, E., Dzobo, M., Musuka, G., & Dzinamarira, T. (2021). Utility of telemedicine in sub-saharan africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. A rapid review. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 3(5), 843-853. doi:10.1002/hbe2.297