Impak Sihat: A telehealth system development and feasibility evaluation to empower rural population in Malaysia on the quality use of medicines

Nor Ilyani Mohamed Nazar; Norny Syafinaz Ab Rahman; Nor Elina Alias; Syahrir Zaini; Tg Karmila Tg Mohd Kamil; Nurjasmine Aida Jamani; Mohamed Hassan Elnaem; Haleh Ayatollahi

doi:10.1371/journal.pdig.0000937

Impak Sihat: A telehealth system development and feasibility evaluation to empower rural population in Malaysia on the quality use of medicines

Nor Ilyani Mohamed Nazar
, Norny Syafinaz Ab Rahman
, Nor Elina Alias
, Syahrir Zaini
, Tg Karmila Tg Mohd Kamil
, Nurjasmine Aida Jamani
, Mohamed Hassan Elnaem
, Haleh Ayatollahi (Editor)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

31 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The escalating global burden of chronic diseases necessitates innovative approaches to enhance medication adherence and quality use of medicines (QUM), particularly in underserved rural populations. This study developed and evaluated Impak Sihat, a telehealth system tailored to address systemic healthcare barriers in rural Malaysia through a three-phase mixed-methods design. Phase 1 involved qualitative interviews with 15 villagers, revealing smartphone ownership, inconsistent internet connectivity, high social media engagement, and limited critical appraisal of online health information. Phase 2 utilised these insights to create a dual-component system: a public portal with Malay-language educational materials, appointment booking, and a practitioner platform featuring secured patient data management. Phase 3 assessed feasibility via community demonstrations with 77 participants (mean age 53.4 ± 11.8 years), showing high acceptance scores (73-87%) across six domains. Key findings included strong usability (87.0 ± 16.3) and interface design (74.8 ± 23.9), though older adults scored significantly lower on interface design for learnability (ρ=-0.29, p

Original language	English
Article number	e0000937
Pages (from-to)	1-16
Number of pages	16
Journal	PLoS Digital Health
Volume	4
Issue number	8
Early online date	7 Aug 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000937
Publication status	Published online - 7 Aug 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Mohamed Nazar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability Statement

All data are presented within the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by Ulster University through the ISPF Networking Grant (Project 609934 to MHE) of the Initiative for Digital Health System Development to Empower the Rural Population in Malaysia on the Quality Use of Medicines. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, publication decision, or manuscript preparation.

Funder number
609934

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pdig.0000937.pdfFinal published version, 1.01 MBLicence: CC BY

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Mohamed Nazar, N. I., Ab Rahman, N. S., Alias, N. E., Zaini, S., Tg Mohd Kamil, T. K., Jamani, N. A., Elnaem, M. H., & Ayatollahi, H. (Ed.) (2025). Impak Sihat: A telehealth system development and feasibility evaluation to empower rural population in Malaysia on the quality use of medicines. PLoS Digital Health, 4(8), 1-16. Article e0000937. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000937

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abstract = "The escalating global burden of chronic diseases necessitates innovative approaches to enhance medication adherence and quality use of medicines (QUM), particularly in underserved rural populations. This study developed and evaluated Impak Sihat, a telehealth system tailored to address systemic healthcare barriers in rural Malaysia through a three-phase mixed-methods design. Phase 1 involved qualitative interviews with 15 villagers, revealing smartphone ownership, inconsistent internet connectivity, high social media engagement, and limited critical appraisal of online health information. Phase 2 utilised these insights to create a dual-component system: a public portal with Malay-language educational materials, appointment booking, and a practitioner platform featuring secured patient data management. Phase 3 assessed feasibility via community demonstrations with 77 participants (mean age 53.4 ± 11.8 years), showing high acceptance scores (73-87\%) across six domains. Key findings included strong usability (87.0 ± 16.3) and interface design (74.8 ± 23.9), though older adults scored significantly lower on interface design for learnability (ρ=-0.29, p ",

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Mohamed Nazar, NI, Ab Rahman, NS, Alias, NE, Zaini, S, Tg Mohd Kamil, TK, Jamani, NA, Elnaem, MH & Ayatollahi, H (ed.) 2025, 'Impak Sihat: A telehealth system development and feasibility evaluation to empower rural population in Malaysia on the quality use of medicines', PLoS Digital Health, vol. 4, no. 8, e0000937, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000937

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Impak Sihat: A telehealth system development and feasibility evaluation to empower rural population in Malaysia on the quality use of medicines

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Funding

Access to Document

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