TITLE:
Knowledge and Perceptions of Hospital Care Staff towards Medical Internet of Things and the Role of Awareness Videos: A Quasi Experimental Study
AUTHORS:
Abdulaziz Alomari, Ben Soh
KEYWORDS:
Internet of Things, Healthcare Professionals, eHealth Knowledge, Awareness Intervention, Experimental Study
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Internet of Things,
Vol.13 No.4,
October
30,
2023
ABSTRACT: Introduction: The healthcare industry continues to adopt and integrate smart
technology into its operations. However, the adoption of the eHealth solutions
has not been smooth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) due to negative
beliefs about the technology, lack of awareness and motivation and resistance
to change. Thus, this study was developed to investigate the knowledge and
perceptions of hospital care staff towards the Medical Internet of Things and
to explore the role of awareness videos in changing negative perceptions. Methods: One group pre-test post-test quasi-experimental study design was incorporated,
and 116 participants from Ministry of Health hospitals in Riyadh, KSA, were
included. A series of four videos were developed to observe their influence on
the knowledge and perceptions of mIoT. Results: The findings showed that
participants had more knowledge about the individual components of mIoT
(particularly wearable devices) compared to the processes or functions of mIoT.
Similarly, just over half (56.0%) of the individuals think that the current
systems in the hospital are enough to deliver mIoT. However, 90% think mIoT is
the future of digital health. Similarly, PE, SI, BI, EE and CESE were
considered facilitators and PTA and CC were considered grave barriers to mIoT
adoption. The awareness videos positively influenced knowledge and perceptions
of PE, EE, CESE and SI. Conclusion: The study concludes that hospital
staff in Riyadh (excluding doctors) possess basic mIoT knowledge, consider various adoption factors
as enablers, and awareness video can play a critical role in effectively
introducing the technology to the hospital care staff.