Abstract
BACKGROUND: The recent COVID-19 pandemic and the shortage of general practitioners has determined a strong pressure on the Italian health system. This critical issue highlighted the fundamental support of e-health services not only to lighten the workload of doctors, but also to offer patients a health service tailored to real needs. Therefore, the digital engagement platforms represent a valid aid, as they reconcile the efficiency needs of the healthcare system with the benefits for the patients involved. In this perspective, little is known about the main factors associated with use of telemonitoring platforms and their effectiveness. This paper investigates the critical success factors of telemonitoring platforms during COVID-19 in order to understand the mechanisms underlying patient participation with the health engagement platforms. METHODS: An exploratory factor analysis was used to explain the main dimensions of patient participation in the COVID-19 telemonitoring. A sample of 119 patients with a suspected or confirmed infection was used in the investigation. Moreover, an analysis of variance was calculated to identify the differences between three types of patients (infected, uninfected, with suspected infection) and verify the effectiveness of the platform. MAIN FINDINGS: There are six main factors underlying the use of the COVID-19 telemonitoring platform. "Self-Health Engagement" emerges as a novel factor. Moreover, compared to other platforms, cognitive engagement is a crucial trigger for effective telemonitoring. DISCUSSION: By identifying the main triggers involved in the use of health engagement platforms, we can improve the satisfaction of telemonitoring services for appropriate health-crisis management. Furthermore, the COVID-19 telemonitoring platform appears to improve health management for both patients and health care providers as it provides the patient with the necessary tools for Self-Health Management (SHM), as well as helping to enrich the literature on health care. CONCLUSION: A new construct emerges in the study of digital telemonitoring platforms: "health self-engagement", that is, an engagement based on self-care that demonstrates the decisive role assumed by both digital technology and patient participation in self-management.