Saudi Arabia Kingdom

Ministry of Higher Education

King Abdul-Aziz University

Faculty of Economics and Administration

Virtual health's effect on reducing

infections in healthcare facilities

Submitted by: …………….

ID: ……………

Supervised By: Dr. ………….

Jeddah - Saudi Arabia

NOV 2023

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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................ 4

Research problem statements....................................................................................6

Research problem and objectives..............................................................................6

Significance of the study.............................................................................................7

Research methodology and data collection...............................................................7

Literature review........................................................................................................9

Time scale..................................................................................................................14

Research structure....................................................................................................15

Chapter 1- introduction........................................................................................15

Chapter 2 – literature review...............................................................................15

Chapter 3- methodology and study design..........................................................16

Chapter 4- data analysis.......................................................................................16

Chapter 5- discussion............................................................................................16

Chapter 6- conclusion and recommendations.....................................................16

References................................................................................................................. 17

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Introduction

The advancement of technology has made the world feel more like a little

village by facilitating human interaction. The days of making an

appointment with a doctor by visiting clinics and medical facilities are

long gone. A laptop, tablet, or smartphone can now be used to accomplish

the same tasks as before and more in a matter of minutes. A doctor can be

consulted online through voice or video call, and an appointment can

even be made. So, a person no longer needs to spend hours travelling to a

clinic or looking for a medical facility to get medical attention, regardless

of where he or she is. All that is required of him is a smartphone and a

reliable internet connection.

Although virtual healthcare has been around for quite some time, its use

has peaked over the past few years, especially after the emergence of the

novel coronavirus in 2019. The outbreak of the pandemic has affected the

lives of billions of people. Following the protocols associated with the

Covid pandemic, such as social distancing, quarantine, etc., has now

become an integral part of our daily lives. The new normal also brought

about changes in all aspects of life, as the percentage of in-person visits to

clinics decreased radically, as people were staying at home due to the

general closure or quarantine. (Asia,2019)

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Although Covid patients received medical assistance, this period was

very difficult for patients suffering from other diseases. To ensure timely

treatment and assistance for non-coronavirus patients, telehealth services

have been widely encouraged, and currently include healthcare services

such as examinations, telehealth consultations with doctors, counseling

on mental health issues, therapy sessions, and support for chronic

diseases, etc.(Tapuria et al,2021)

Now, patients may schedule appointments with doctors and other

healthcare professionals at predetermined places and quickly connect

with them to receive virtual care utilising online telehealth services.

Nowadays, hospitals and medical facilities have specific areas on their

websites where patients can check test results, medications, and other

pertinent data. Since the Covid-19 pandemic's effects are still being felt

throughout the world, telehealth services have made it simpler for people

to access care and treatment electronically. An individual can now readily

get assistance from the comfort of his home thanks to these services.

The use of virtual health programs in the government and private sectors

has served as a fortress for people, especially the elderly and those with

chronic diseases, as virtual health services have enabled people to receive

various therapeutic services and consultations remotely while in their

homes without traveling to hospitals, clinics and health centers, which

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makes Remove the slightest doubt about the infection being transmitted

to them, considering that this fragile group of society lacks the element of

immunity, and this new type of virtual health services has become a

revolution and a step back from all traditional methods of treatment and

diagnosis and has given the health sector many advantages and positives

that were lacking in the Traditional clinical treatment system

(Mounira,2021).

Research problem statements

Aiming to use virtual care and health as one of the tools to stop the

spread of infection and then epidemics, there is growing interest in this

field and its applications, the main research problem is to Understanding

how virtual health affects the reducing of infection in healthcare facilities.

Research problem and objectives

The research is aimed to identifying how virtual health affects the

reducing of infection in healthcare facilities as a case study of the General

hospital of Umluj at Saudi Arabia. The research was done according to

specific criteria to achieve the following goals;

 Revealing the nature of virtual health and its role in reducing the

spread of infection.

 Monitoring ways to raise health awareness through virtual health.

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  Examining virtual health's benefits and drawbacks and working to

develop.

Significance of the study

The Significance of the study can be summarized as:

 Lack of studies that discuss virtual health and its role in reducing

the spread of infections and thus epidemics.

 The importance of the issue represented by virtual health and its

role in limiting the spread of infection, especially in cases of

chronic diseases that require periodic follow-up in hospitals, which

are considered one of the most prominent places for transmission

of infection.

 Adopting the study on methodological foundations, which enables

it to reach scientific results that can benefit those responsible for

managing the health field.

Research methodology and data collection

To meet the major objectives of the study's effect of virtual health

on lowering infections in healthcare institutions, the study design should

be planned and start with data collection.

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 The study is going to be descriptive, meaning it will "describe the

distribution of one or more variables without considering any causal or

other hypotheses" (Aggarwal & Ranganathan, 2019).

The study will have a cross-sectional design in which the study

sample is selected and data is gathered to learn more about the subject.

Interviews with patients as well as healthcare professionals will be

used to get the information, and they will be direct and face-to-face to

ensure the accuracy of the assessment.

100 patients who commonly visit the " General hospital of Umluj"

and 100 Healthcare professionals will make up the study population.

They should be between the ages of 20 and 50 and have no personal

connection to the hospital. Research and professional ethics will be taken

into consideration when the study is conducted.

Access to the information that will be acquired will be restricted to

those with authorization, and it will be treated confidentially and with

protection. The information provided by the study sample will also be

professionally analyzed and presented, and the outcomes will only be

applied to the intended purpose.

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Literature review

Information technology has transformed how modern science

views medical practices, playing a significant role in the medical

industry. Medicine has evolved, progressed, and grown significantly

more reliant on information technology than it once was just research-

based medical techniques. This advancement has sparked the

development of virtual health.

When the US Space Agency (NASA) started examining how

astronauts' bodies changed while in space, the concept of virtual health

was first introduced. This agency's scientists have shown that doctors on

the ground can monitor physiological processes like blood pressure, heart

rate, and body temperature, and some other early experiments have

demonstrated the viability of remote diagnosis and the transmission of

high-quality, detail-rich medical data (Maleka, 2011).

The concept was very lightly developed and used up until the

introduction of the Corona virus. A partial or complete ban was imposed

as a result of the outbreak, and non-essential services had to be shut

down. As a precaution to stop the pandemic from spreading, medical

consultations were postponed, save in emergency situations. Despite this,

some clinics and hospitals carried on with consultations while exercising

caution and following safety protocols. These precautions did not,

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however, stop the virus from spreading among medical teams, which

resulted in the deaths of many of them. Some people turned to the

remedies offered by virtual health sciences by means of technologies as a

result. With equipment to aid in disease diagnosis or offer remote medical

assistance (Jakhar et al., 2020).

According to Sood et al. (2007) on page 575, "virtual health" is

"the use of information and electronic communication technologies to

provide medical support and care when the spatial distance separates

patients and health care professionals." The definition contains four

crucial components

 Virtual health: providing support and medical care.

 Technologies: The use of modern technology and

information systems, including audio-visual, audio-visual,

and interactive forms and tools, in the field of providing

remote medical service.

 Place element: when spatial distance separates, that is, the

requirement of distance or spatial separation between the

patient and the specialist.

 Benefit: Providing medical care to people where they are;

When they can't come in for that care.

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 Virtual health encompasses a comprehensive range of medical

procedures, including as disease prevention, research and assessment

methods, disease diagnosis and treatment, and continuing education for

both patients and healthcare professionals. Depending on the connection

and the type of information flow, virtual health can take on a number of

different shapes. When it comes to interaction, the patient and the

healthcare professional can speak and communicate simultaneously in

real time via videoconferencing, messaging apps like WhatsApp, Skype,

and Imo, as well as other methods like Skype and video conferencing. As

information is obtained from the patient, recorded, saved, and then sent

later, the interaction must be asynchronous to ensure that the patient

receives the caregiver's response at a time different than the one he

requested the consultation For instance, using phone applications where

the patient sends a voice or video message and waits for the healthcare

professional to respond with the same message at the proper moment.

Virtual health can take on a variety of forms, including text, photographs,

video clips, live photography, and live video, depending on the type of

information conveyed (Craig & Petterson, 2005, p.5).

Classification of virtual health Information Classification

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 Image video

Rea-Time Telepsychiatry
Interaction
Pre-Recorded Remote rays

(Craig & Petterson, 2005, p.5).

During the past few years, the use of Internet applications via

mobile phones has become widespread, improving access for patients to

provide health care, enhancing the efficiency of service delivery,

improving diagnosis, facilitating timely treatment, and supporting public

health programs. These effective means of communication have provided

accurate results. At the right time to the right recipient, which protects

their privacy and confidentiality, there are multiple uses for mobile

communication applications such as monitoring chronic disease

conditions, following up on treatment adherence, providing psychological

support, managing infectious diseases by contact tracing and notifying the

partner of sexually transmitted infectious diseases, and promoting

awareness Health programs to quit smoking (Jakhar et al., 2020).

Audio-visual communications facilitated by Virtual health make it

feasible for patients with severe, serious, life-threatening illnesses to

receive continued treatment from the local family physician and the home

care team at home. The use of some Virtual health applications that

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enable users to share clinical images, clinical videos, report images,

medication images, and text messages has significantly improved virtual

health by fostering better channels of communication between the patient,

the treating physician, and the neighborhood family physician.

Care for people who lack access to medical care because of a

crippling physical condition or geographic isolation is best served by

virtual health technologies. A study by Coyle et al. showed that such

technologies have many advantages, including fewer daily physical

examinations and assessments required, help in communicating with

patients who are deaf or hard of hearing, higher levels of satisfaction for

both patients and caregivers, and use in palliative care settings. These

apps can even lessen the caregiver's financial burden by avoiding the

expense of travel, consultations, and unneeded hospitalizations and

treatments (Dhiliwal & Salins, 2015, p88-90).

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 Time scale

The research proposal we performed will reveal the Virtual health's

effect on reducing infections in healthcare facilities as A case study of the

General hospital of Umluj. the using cross-sectional study will be helpful

and the collected information through the interviews will assist in

gathering the information and analyzing them correctly to give the results

related to the topic

The following is the work plan for the study;

November Dec January Feb March April May June

Submitting the

research proposal

Refining the

proposal based on

the committee's

suggestion

Conducting the

literature review

Designing the semi-

structure interviews

Conducting the pilot

study

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Designing the final

tool

Data collection

Data analysis

Writing up

Preparing an article

for publication

Submission the

research project

Research structure

Chapter 1- introduction

The study's history is briefly described in this chapter, along with

the goals and purpose of the investigation. The importance of the study, a

brief explanation of the technique, and the thesis' format are all described.

Chapter 2 – literature review

This chapter gives literature about the topic and its importance related to

the study; all the related studies will discuss in this chapter to confirm the

results of our future study.

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 Chapter 3- methodology and study design

This chapter will give the information about the way of the study

was performed, how this study was performed, and which type of this

study is. the study design is also described in this section; cross-sectional

study, case report, or another type of study design, as how the study

sample was taken and how the information was collected. The analyzing

way of the information is also discussed in this chapter in detail.

Chapter 4- data analysis

The study's results will be presented in this chapter. The data will

be analyzed.

Chapter 5- discussion

This chapter will go over the importance of the key discovery. To put the

results into context, the discussion will be conducted with references to

the literature that is currently available.

Chapter 6- conclusion and recommendations

This chapter will summarize the important points about the

information discussed in the literature review, and also give

recommendations that will help in future research and development.

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References
 Craig, J., & Petterson, V. (2005). Introduction to the practice of

telemedicine. Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 11(1), 3-9.

 Dhiliwal, S. R., & Salins, N. (2015). Smartphone applications in

palliative homecare. Indian journal of palliative care, 21(1), 88-91.

 Gerring, J. (2006). Case study research: Principles and practices:

Cambridge university press.

 Jakhar, D., Kaul, S., & Kaur, I. (2020). WhatsApp messenger as a

teledermatology tool during coronavirus disease (COVID‐19):

from bedside to phoneside. Clinical and Experimental

Dermatology, 45, 739-740.

 Sood, S., Mbarika, V., Jugoo, S., Dookhy, R., Doarn, C. R.,

Prakash, N., & Merrell, R. C. (2007). What is telemedicine? A

collection of 104 peer-reviewed perspectives and theoretical

underpinnings. Telemedicine and e-Health, 13(5), 573-590.

 Asia, khodim, (2019), Telemedicine as a tool for achieving

competitive advantage, kasdy meriah university, Algeria.

 Alzaghol, ahmed eisa, (2022), The Role of Social Media Networks

in Developing Health Awareness Among Jordanian Universities

Student’s in Light of the Corona Pandemic, middle east university,

Jordan.

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 Jerboua,mounira, (2021), Telemedicine is a necessity imposed by

the Corona pandemic, Algerian journal for political and law, vol 2.

 Archana Tapuria, Talya Porat, Dipak Kalra, Glen Dsouza, Sun

Xiaohui & Vasa Curcin (2021) Impact of patient access to their

electronic health record: systematic review, Informatics for Health

and Social Care, 46:2, 194-206

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