User adherence and perceptions of a Volunteer-Led Telemonitoring and Teleorientation Service for COVID-19 community management in Peru: The COVIDA project

BackgroundDuring the pandemic in Peru, the COVIDA project proposed an innovative way to provide telemonitoring and teleorientation to COVID-19 pandemics led by health student volunteers. However, it has not been described how this interaction is perceived from the users perspective. The aim of this study is to describe the adherence and perceptions of users about COVIDA. MethodsA mixed-method study was conducted to evaluate the adherence and perceptions of COVIDA users. This telehealth intervention implemented in Peru from August to December 2020 involved daily phone-calls by volunteer students to monitor registered users for 14 days or until a warning sign was identified. The volunteers also provided teleorientation to address the users needs and concerns. Quantitative analysis described the characteristics of users and assessed the factors related to adherence to the service. Qualitative analysis trough semi-structured interviews evaluated the users perceptions about the service. ResultsOf the 778 users enrolled in COVIDA, 397 (54.7%) were female and had a mean age of 41 years (SD: 15.3). During the monitoring, 380 users (44.4%) developed symptoms, and 471 (55.5%) showed warning signs for COVID-19. The overall median of adherence was 93% (p25:36%, p75:100%). Among those users who did not develop warning symptoms, a high level of adherence (>66%) was seen predominantly in users that developed symptoms and those with a positive COVID-19 test (p<0.05). Users referred that the information provided by volunteers was clear and valuable and, their accompaniment provided them with emotional support. Communications via phone calls were developed fluently without interruptions. ConclusionsCOVIDA represented an affordable, well-accepted, and perceived alternative model for telemonitoring, teleorientation and emotional support from student volunteers to users with diseases such as COVID-19 in a context of overwhelmed demand for healthcare services.