The perception of facilitators and barriers to the use of e-health solutions in Poland: a qualitative study.

Abstract

Background: E-health entails the use of information and communication technologies in support of health and health-related activities. E-health increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The pandemic showed that the e-health environment may be an important element of the response to epidemiological challenges. Polish citizens were provided with an array of e-health tools supporting the provision of health services.

Methods: The main aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, use, and opinions about e-health solutions in Polish society. Fifty participants representing the general population took part in in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted face-to-face with participants in their homes or via a teleconferencing platform from November 2023 to January 2024. At first, the interviewees were recruited by convenience, and at a later stage, a snowballing approach was applied. A semi-structured guide covered the knowledge about and use of e-health solutions, attitudes toward new technologies, and opinions about artificial intelligence and robots in healthcare. The interviewers interviewed 50 participants, of whom 26 were females. The interview transcriptions were analyzed with MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2022 (Release 22.7.0). An approach based on thematic analysis was employed to evaluate the interviews' content.

Results: Thematic analysis of the interviews resulted in the identification of three main themes: (1) knowledge about e-health, (2) barriers, and (3) facilitators of e-health use. Recognition of the term 'e-health' was limited among study participants, although they used e-health solutions frequently. The main barriers included limited digital skills and unfavorable attitudes to new technologies. Some of the participants complained about technical difficulties, e.g., poor Internet access. The main facilitators identified based on the interviews include saving time and reducing costs, as well as the ability to access medical records in one repository, as in the case of the Internet Patient Account. Some people believed e-health to be an element of progress. Overall, the study participants supported sharing their medical data for research.

Conclusions: Implementing e-health solutions seems to be perceived as an inevitable consequence of technological progress. However, a lack of adequate technical skills remains one of the major obstacles to efficiently utilizing e-health's potential.