BACKGROUND
People in suburban and remote areas face significant challenges in accessing doctors and healthcare facilities. Mobile health (mHealth) offers a solution by connecting them with skilled physicians in urban tertiary healthcare facilities, thereby enhancing their access to quality healthcare services resulting in improved care.
OBJECTIVE
The study uses a mixed-method approach to assess the effectiveness of VirtualDoc, a mHealth app that connects individuals living in remote areas with qualified doctors in urban areas.
METHODS
The study population includes men and women aged 18 years or older from both urban and rural settlements in Pakistan. The data collection was done through convenience-based sampling between April 2021 and July 2022. Descriptive analysis was conducted to report average scores and percentages. To further analyze the quantitative data, t-tests and chi-squared tests were performed among different participant groups.
RESULTS
A total of 388 application users were surveyed from both urban and rural areas of Pakistan (Female= 231; Male= 157), and qualitative feedback was obtained regarding their suggestions on improving the user experience. Our findings showed overall satisfaction among app users with the app's features and user-friendliness. However, a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) emerged between urban and rural users.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings of the study will not only contribute towards to fill the digital healthcare literature gap in Pakistan and other LMICs but also help in drawing policy recommendations for future application of mHealth initiatives.