ArticleJMIR formative research2022
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on eHealth Use in the Daily Practice and Life of Dutch-Speaking General Practitioners in Belgium: Qualitative Study With Semistructured Interviews.
Article in JMIR formative research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Building bridges in diabetic foot ulcer care: a realist evaluation of the cross-sectoral use of telemedicine solutions.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed characteristics, administration modalities, and implementation of psychological interventions for chronic headache? An updated systematic review.Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2026Review
- Attitudes toward the adoption of eHealth amongst healthcare professionals in trauma surgery - the new digital normal?BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Perspectives and Experiences on eHealth Solutions for Coping With Chronic Pain: Qualitative Study Among Older People Living With Chronic Pain.JMIR aging · 2024Article
- Mapping Factors That Affect the Uptake of Digital Therapeutics Within Health Systems: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Digital Health-Seeking Behavior: Big Data Interrupted Time-Series Analysis of Google Trends.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 crisis has led to rapid and far-reaching changes in digital health care, but little is known about what, why, and how changes occurred in eHealth use in Flemish general practice during the pandemic.
objectiveThis study aims to understand how general practitioners (GPs) perceive and evaluate eHealth solutions and their eHealth experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsThis qualitative study was conducted using in-depth 1-on-1 semistructured interviews with the help of an interview guide. Several areas were identified beforehand to help assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: perceptions of digital technologies in GP practices; changes in the use of these technologies during and after the COVID-19 pandemic; GPs' adaptation to digitalization, benefits, risks, and challenges of eHealth; GPs motivations to change practice; and future perspectives on eHealth. In this study, purposive sampling and snowballing methods were used. Between October 2021 and April 2022, we interviewed 15 Dutch-speaking GPs in the Flemish region via the Zoom online conferencing tool.
resultsGPs indicated that eHealth was used more frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic than before, a change that helped them reduce their workload, enabling greater accessibility to health care services and the complementary use of digital and physical consultations. Our findings suggest that physicians underwent a significant cognitive shift in their perceptions, causing them to be more open and prepared to adopt eHealth solutions. However, there remains significant doubt and uncertainty about digital literacy for certain groups, privacy, data security, reimbursement, and the burden of technical information and communication technologies (ICT) issues.
conclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic seems to have been a turning point for eHealth by Flemish GPs. eHealth is an essential complementary health care service that can reduce pressure on health care as well as increase health care accessibility. Sensitive aspects, such as privacy, data security, digital literacy, reimbursement, and the burden of technical ICT issues, are particularly emphasized. With our results, we can offer recommendations to health IT policymakers and developers that will help maintain the continuity of eHealth solutions beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the expectations and sensitivities presented in the study.
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