Technostress and telemedicine in rural communities: insights from healthcare professionals in the Italian Dolomites

Introduction: In Italy, many facilities have started adopting telemedicine services since their regulation in 2020. Rural areas mainly benefit from telemedicine implementation due to their geographic features. We investigated the interests, attitudes, and perceptions of healthcare providers operating in the Italian Dolomites regarding the adoption of telemedicine. Furthermore, we explored the relationship between technostress and the intention to integrate telemedicine services during daily practices.

Methods: We developed a structured interview protocol based on existing literature and following the key principles of Constructivist Grounded Theory to investigate five areas of interest in telemedicine. After the interview, participants completed the Italian version of the Technostress Creators Scale (TCS) to evaluate the current technostress experienced in work activities, and a TCS-adapted version to measure technostress values generated through telemedicine services.

Results: A content analysis of the interviews highlighted four main factors that can help communities more readily accept telemedicine services: the convenience of not having to travel, the ageing population, cost savings, and a sense of community. Regarding the scales, there were positive significant correlations between most of the subscales.

Discussion: Our findings confirm that telemedicine fosters perceived security and service quality in rural settings. Despite moderate technostress, professionals remain supportive, highlighting the role of perceived usefulness. Key barriers include low digital literacy and reduced social contact, underscoring the need for strong patient–provider relationships and targeted digital training to ensure successful implementation.

Conclusion: Telemedicine offers vital support in improving healthcare access in remote areas. Overcoming barriers like low digital skills and poor connectivity requires infrastructure investment and training. Evaluating technostress alongside digital readiness is essential for future research.

Keywords: healthcare professionals, interviews, mixed methods, mountainous areas, remote areas, rural areas, rural health, telemedicine.