Perceptions and Satisfaction of E-Health Applications: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study in a Rural Health Center at Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu.

Introduction E-health, defined as the utilization of information and communication technologies for health services, has become integral in enhancing healthcare delivery and accessibility. This study focuses on user satisfaction and perceptions of e-health applications in rural health centers, with special focus on Tamil Nadu, India. E-health technologies have proven to be effective in addressing challenges to healthcare accessibility and improving patient outcomes, at reduced costs. Despite these benefits, there is a need to understand user experiences in rural settings to optimize the implementation of e-health solutions. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 383 patients registered in a non-communicable disease (NCD) clinic and specialty clinic in the rural health center of a tertiary care hospital in Tiruvallur district. Participants were selected using a consecutive sampling method from the NCD and specialty clinic registers. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on their perception and satisfaction with e-health applications. Data was entered in (Microsoft) MS Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington, United States) and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25 (Released 2017; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). Results The overall mean age was 49.45 ± 7 years. Among the study participants, females constituted 57.3% compared to males who constituted 42.7%. 58.3% of the participants had comorbid conditions. More than half of the study participants were educated up to the high school level. According to BG Prasad's classification, 86.9 % of the participants belonged to middle class and below. Among the study participants, more than half of them use their smartphones as devices for internet access to use e-health applications. The study participants who had no co-morbid conditions were 3.3 times the odds of having poor perception and satisfaction when compared to the other categories (OR = 3.3, CI = 2.1 - 5.1) in using e-health applications, and this difference was found to be statistically significant (p = 0.01). Conclusion This study's findings reveal that gender, socio-economic status, occupation, and the presence of comorbid illnesses play significant roles in shaping users' perceptions and satisfaction levels. This study's findings underscore the importance of tailored e-health interventions to address these barriers and enhance healthcare delivery in rural areas.

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Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Saveetha Medical College and Hospital Institutional Ethics Committee issued approval SMC/IEC/04/001. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.