The Impact Of Using Modern Technology In The Field Of Public Health In Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Saudi Arabia has put a lot of investments in digital health infrastructure, but there is a paucity of empirical evidence on the role of facilitators and barriers in digital health infrastructure, as well as the actual effect of the technologies in the public health system. The current research aimed at measuring the extent of technology use and determining its relationship with perceived population health outcomes, but at the same time, investigating the underlying determinant components. The Riyadh Region used a cross-sectional, mixed-methods study, with a stratified random sample of 584 participants (200 healthcare professionals and 384 public users). A structured questionnaire that combined a validated Likert scale and open-ended questions was used to gather data, and thematic analysis, descriptive statistics, and multiple linear regression were used to conduct the subsequent analyses. The findings indicated that there is a strong positive relation between technology adoption and perceived impact(r = 0.68, p < .001). Regression analysis showed the technology adoption score had the highest significant unique predictor of perceived impact ( 0.48, p <.001), with facilitators being a positive predictor and barriers being a negative predictor. Public users indicated a much greater presence of technical difficulties as an obstacle than professionals (34.9% and 22.5% respectively, p =.002). To sum up, although the use of technology is a strong predictor of favorable perceived individual effects, the effect strongly depends on user-specific facilitators and barriers, thus requiring specific strategies to address different groups of users to reap the maximum benefits of technology in promoting the overall health of society.