Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37675683›Full record

ArticleSingapore medical journal2025

Awareness and attitudes of elderly Southeast Asian adults towards telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.

Ryan Eyn Kidd Man, Aricia Xin Yi Ho, Ester Pei Xuan Lee, Eva Katie Diana Fenwick, Amudha Aravindhan, Kam Chun Ho, Gavin Siew Wei Tan, Daniel Shu Wei Ting, Tien Yin Wong, Khung Keong Yeo and 3 more

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Article in Singapore medical journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Ryan Eyn Kidd ManSingapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore.
Aricia Xin Yi HoSingapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore.
Ester Pei Xuan LeeSingapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore.
Eva Katie Diana FenwickSingapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore.
Amudha AravindhanSingapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore.
Kam Chun HoSingapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore.
Gavin Siew Wei TanSingapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore.
Daniel Shu Wei TingSingapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore.
Tien Yin WongSingapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore.
Khung Keong YeoDuke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Su-Yen GohDuke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Preeti GuptaSingapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore.
Ecosse Luc LamoureuxSingapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore.
National University of Singapore · SGSingapore Eye Research Institute · SGSingapore National Eye Center · SGDuke-NUS Medical School · SG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionWe aimed to understand the awareness and attitudes of elderly Southeast Asians towards telehealth services during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in this study.

methodsIn this qualitative study, 78 individuals from Singapore (51.3% female, mean age 73.0 ± 7.6 years) were interviewed via telephone between 13 May 2020 and 9 June 2020 during Singapore's first COVID-19 'circuit breaker'. Participants were asked to describe their understanding of telehealth, their experience of and willingness to utilise these services, and the barriers and facilitators underlying their decision. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis, guided by the United Theory of Acceptance Use of Technology framework.

resultsOf the 78 participants, 24 (30.8%) were able to describe the range of telehealth services available and 15 (19.2%) had previously utilised these services. Conversely, 14 (17.9%) participants thought that telehealth comprised solely home medication delivery and 50 (51.3%) participants did not know about telehealth. Despite the advantages offered by telehealth services, participants preferred in-person consultations due to a perceived lack of human interaction and accuracy of diagnoses, poor digital literacy and a lack of access to telehealth-capable devices.

conclusionOur results showed poor overall awareness of the range of telehealth services available among elderly Asian individuals, with many harbouring erroneous views regarding their use. These data suggest that public health education campaigns are needed to improve awareness of and correct negative perceptions towards telehealth services in elderly Asians.

Indexed as

COVID-19Health Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeTelemedicineAgedAged, 80 and overAwarenessFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsQualitative ResearchSingaporeSoutheast Asian PeopleAttitudeawarenessCOVID-19focus groupstelehealth

Identifiers

PMID37675683
PMCPMC12161648
OpenAlexW4386055218

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.