Profile and Motivation of Women Enrolled in the Brazilian Telemedicine and Telehealth Postgraduation Distance Education Programme

Purpose:  Women’s participation in Telehealth is increasing around the world and they should be prepared to work in this new job market. The aim of this study was to evaluate the profile and motivation of women enrolled in the Brazilian Postgraduate Programme on Telemedicine and Telehealth. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to July 2018 of all women enrolled in the postgraduate programme using an anonymous online Google form. It consisted of a multiple choice form regarding: age, number of children, profession, date of graduation, current occupation, current number of jobs, workload, postgraduate programmes completed,  duration of Telehealth experience  and motivation to enrol on the Programme.  Data collected were exported to an Excel® sheet, summarised and analysed. Results: Of 44 women, 36 completed the survey. Mean age and time passed since graduation were respectively 43.5±13.5 years and 18±17 years for student and 53±13.5 years and 31.5±8.5 for professors; 25 women have at least one child, work more than 30 hours weekly and 10 of them work in two jobs.  Health professionals and health occupations were predominant in both groups. Most students had little or no experience in Telehealth.  The decreasing order of frequency motivation was professional refinement (63.8%), job opportunity (55.5%), financial gain (52.7%) and innovation (38.8%). Conclusion: Regardless of age, children, workload and professional qualification, the major women's motivation for enrolling in the Telehealth Postgraduate Programme is to professional refinement in this field

Medical teleconsultation in the care of children with suspected rare diseases: a pilot study in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: To evaluate teleinterconsultation in medical genetics for cases of children with suspected rare diseases. Methods: Prospective study of qualitative and quantitative survey that evaluated the use and satisfaction with asynchronous teleinterconsultation for physicians from public hospitals in a city in the northern macro-region of the state of Minas Gerais. Results: A total of 21 teleinterconsultations were performed from September 29, 2020, to January 07, 2021. Eleven (52.4%) of them were able to establish the probable diagnosis in the first evaluation, and the others were within the protocols of rare disease investigation. Of the 12 requesting physicians, 11 (91.6%) were female, seven (58.2%) were paediatric residents, and five (41.7%) were paediatricians. Seven of the requesting physicians had never used telemedicine before. There was 100% satisfaction with the teleinterconsultation with the specialist geneticist. Conclusion: Teleinterconsultation in medical genetics for children with rare diseases met expectations, modified the conduct of non-specialist physicians in a city lacking a geneticist, and guided diagnosis and conduct in all cases