PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Background Teleneurology has been in existence for decades, and the COVID-19 pandemic has escalated its widespread usage. Neurological conditions are a leading cause of death globally, with sub-Saharan Africa bearing the bulk of the burden. Nigeria has few trained neurologists with the few available concentrated in an urban region. The adoption of teleneurology will help close this treatment gap. Despite evidence of its advantage, the adoption and state of teleneurology in Nigeria are very low. This study aims to determine the state and perception of teleneurology in the care of neurological patients in Nigeria and identify challenges to its wide usage. Methods The primary research method was a descriptive cross-sectional survey among 48 neurologists in Nigeria across the six geo-political zones of the country. Descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage were used to summarize and present the results. Results A total of 48 neurologists participated, of which 46 (95.8%) specialized in general neurology. Videoconferencing is the most preferred means of telemedicine (24, 50%), followed by phone calls (16, 33.3%) and short messages (6, 12.5%). Three-quarters of the respondents are concerned about legal actions from telemedicine use. The majority (34, 70.9%) are not familiar with telemedicine tools, and 40 (83.3%) indicate low telemedicine seminar attendance. More than 90% (46) of neurologists believe that it is a viable approach and can save time and money. Barriers to telemedicine included the lack of incentive to use the technology (38, 79.2%), poor Internet connectivity (36, 75%), and the lack of exposure to telemedicine (36, 75%). Conclusions It is important to overcome the existing barrier to teleneurology in order to fully harness its potential in addressing the shortage of health professionals in Nigeria as most neurologists are open to using it.
摘要：
背景技术远程神经病学已经存在了几十年,COVID-19大流行加剧了其广泛使用。神经系统疾病是全球死亡的主要原因，撒哈拉以南非洲承担了大部分负担。尼日利亚几乎没有训练有素的神经科医生，只有少数集中在城市地区。采用远程神经病学将有助于缩小这一治疗差距。尽管有证据表明它的优势，尼日利亚的远程神经病学的采用率和状况都很低。这项研究旨在确定尼日利亚神经系统患者护理中远程神经病学的状态和看法，并确定其广泛使用的挑战。方法主要研究方法是对尼日利亚六个地缘政治地区的48名神经科医生进行描述性横断面调查。使用频率和百分比等描述性统计数据来总结和呈现结果。结果共有48位神经科医师参加,其中46人（95.8%）专攻普通神经病学。视频会议是远程医疗最优选的手段（24，50％），其次是电话（16，33.3％）和短信（6，12.5％）。四分之三的受访者担心远程医疗使用的法律诉讼。大多数(34,70.9%)不熟悉远程医疗工具，40人(83.3%)表示远程医疗研讨会出席率低。超过90％（46）的神经学家认为这是一种可行的方法，可以节省时间和金钱。远程医疗的障碍包括缺乏使用该技术的动力（38，79.2％），互联网连接不良(36%，75%)，以及缺乏远程医疗(36%，75%)。结论重要的是要克服现有的远程神经病学障碍，以便充分利用其潜力来解决尼日利亚卫生专业人员短缺的问题，因为大多数神经学家都愿意使用它。
