Patients' Acceptability and Satisfaction with Teleconsultation for Pelvic Floor Exercises for Stress Urinary Incontinence During COVID-19.

Objectives: This was the first urogynaecology specialty nurse teleconsultation offered by a public hospital during COVID-19 for learning pelvic floor exercises. This study assessed patients' perception, acceptance, and satisfaction using 2 validated questionnaires. Methods: In total, 25 patients with stress urinary incontinence attended the teleconsultation via videoconferencing in April 2022, and completed the Telemedicine Perception Questionnaire (TMPQ) and Telemedicine Satisfaction Questionnaire (TSQ). The TMPQ was a 17 -item, 5 -point Likert scale questionnaire for assessing the acceptability of telemedicine. The TSQ was a 14 -item, 5 -point Likert scale questionnaire for assessing satisfaction with teleconsultation. The higher the score, the greater the acceptance and satisfaction. Information on demographics, symptom severity by Urogenital Distress Inventory -6 and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire -7, internet access, and transport arrangements were included. Results: Participants had a mean age of 54.6 +/- 7.37 years. Their mean Urogenital Distress Inventory -6 score was 40.60/100 (SD = 17.83) and Impact Questionnaire -7 was 27.90/100 (SD = 19.83). Preteleconsultation mean TMPQ score was 59.16 +/- 5.78/85. Postteleconsultation mean score was 64.92 +/- 5.21/85, which was 3.64 higher ( t = 3.642, df = 24, P = 0.001), indicating a significant increase in positive perception and acceptability. There were fewer concerns with the usage ( P = 0.017) and reliability ( P = 0.003) of technology, while there was increased agreement that teleconsultation is costsaving for the health care system ( P = 0.003) and offers easier access to health care providers ( P = 0.006) after the teleconsultation. Mean TSQ score was 59.85 +/- 9.46/70. Conclusion: Our pilot study demonstrated positive perception, high acceptability, and satisfaction from patients' first teleconsultation experience. Further multi -centre studies with the inclusion of a control group would help in understanding patients' needs and for service planning.