ABSTRACT

During the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, telemedicine has provided people with a technical solution to alleviate chronic disease management without the fear of cross-contamination of Covid-19. This research adopted semi-structured interviews to understand Wuhan senior citizens’ intentions to use digital devices for chronic disease management during and after the lockdown. The research illustrated how citizens in Wuhan managed their medical requirements by the ‘grid-managed’ online community. This paper also revealed different emphases on telemedicine between middle-aged and senior citizens. In addition, the findings suggested that cultural background, medical literacy, and socio-economic infrastructures play a pivotal role in influencing senior citizens’ perceptions and use of telemedicine and telecare services. The findings also identified the key role of social networks which we term as a new form of acquaintance society.

摘要

在持续的 Covid-19 大流行期间，远程医疗为人们提供了一种缓解慢性病管理的技术解决方案，而无需担心 Covid-19 的交叉污染。本研究采用半结构化访谈来了解武汉老年人在封锁期间和封锁后使用数字设备进行慢性病管理的意图。该研究说明了武汉市民如何通过“网格管理”在线社区管理他们的医疗需求。本文还揭示了中老年人对远程医疗的不同侧重点。此外，研究结果表明，文化背景、医学素养和社会经济基础设施在影响老年人对远程医疗和远程护理服务的看法和使用方面发挥着关键作用。