Assessing telemedicine readiness in a fragile and conflict-affected setting: Evidence from Yemen
1
Community Medicine Department, College of Medicine, Hadhramout University, Hadhramout, Yemen
2
Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Kelantan, Malaysia
3
School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Kelantan, Malaysia
4
Interdisciplinary Research Unit, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Kelantan, Malaysia
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Telemedicine is a crucial digital health intervention for healthcare professionals, facilitating the remote delivery of healthcare services in conflict areas (1,2). This study aims to assess telemedicine readiness in a limited-resource and conflict-affected context by comprehensively evaluating the infrastructure, technical capabilities, organizational readiness, and human resource capacity of Yemen's healthcare facilities.
METHODS:
A cross-sectional study was conducted in 11 public secondary and tertiary health facilities across the Sahel and Wadi areas of Hadhramout, Yemen. Data were collected from July to October 2025 using the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) telemedicine maturity assessment tool across six major domains, with a scoring system ranging from 1 “None” to 4 “Ready” (3). Descriptive statistics were used to estimate preparedness across domains and to compute the overall mean.
RESULTS:
Among all the healthcare facilities, the median overall maturity level is 1 (mean = 1.4), indicating that they are in the foundational stage. Organizational readiness and human resources emerged as the strongest dimensions, both achieving a median maturity score of 2 though still reflecting low-to-moderate capacity. In contrast, processes, digital environment, regulatory issues, and expertise were substantially weaker, with median scores of 1 across all categories. Correlation analysis identified significant relationships between human resources and organizational readiness (r = 0.695, p = 0.018), digital environment and human resources (r = 0.785, p = 0.004), and human resources and regulatory issues (r = 0.727, p = 0.011), highlighting the central role of workforce capacity in telemedicine maturation.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study indicates that healthcare facilities in Yemen exhibit telemedicine maturity levels below the beginner stage across all domains. It is recommended that action plans and budgets be developed, a dedicated task force be established, reliable internet access be ensured with specialized IT staff, and legal advice be sought to address regulatory concerns and gaps.
Telemedicine is a crucial digital health intervention for healthcare professionals, facilitating the remote delivery of healthcare services in conflict areas (1,2). This study aims to assess telemedicine readiness in a limited-resource and conflict-affected context by comprehensively evaluating the infrastructure, technical capabilities, organizational readiness, and human resource capacity of Yemen's healthcare facilities.
METHODS:
A cross-sectional study was conducted in 11 public secondary and tertiary health facilities across the Sahel and Wadi areas of Hadhramout, Yemen. Data were collected from July to October 2025 using the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) telemedicine maturity assessment tool across six major domains, with a scoring system ranging from 1 “None” to 4 “Ready” (3). Descriptive statistics were used to estimate preparedness across domains and to compute the overall mean.
RESULTS:
Among all the healthcare facilities, the median overall maturity level is 1 (mean = 1.4), indicating that they are in the foundational stage. Organizational readiness and human resources emerged as the strongest dimensions, both achieving a median maturity score of 2 though still reflecting low-to-moderate capacity. In contrast, processes, digital environment, regulatory issues, and expertise were substantially weaker, with median scores of 1 across all categories. Correlation analysis identified significant relationships between human resources and organizational readiness (r = 0.695, p = 0.018), digital environment and human resources (r = 0.785, p = 0.004), and human resources and regulatory issues (r = 0.727, p = 0.011), highlighting the central role of workforce capacity in telemedicine maturation.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study indicates that healthcare facilities in Yemen exhibit telemedicine maturity levels below the beginner stage across all domains. It is recommended that action plans and budgets be developed, a dedicated task force be established, reliable internet access be ensured with specialized IT staff, and legal advice be sought to address regulatory concerns and gaps.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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