About the Questionnaire

The questionnaire instrument's structure is an important part of the research because it is used to meet
the study's goals. As a result, the questionnaire was created to answer different criteria depending on
the type of participant; it was created to be sent to medical specialists (physicians) and patients directly
involved in the installation of telemedicine systems. Two things must be considered prior to the
questionnaire design (Andrew and Halcomb, 2009; Smith, 2002): the type of information that has to be
collected from respondents, and ways to extract such information and which methodologies are
valuable and suitable.

Important points have been considered prior to constructing survey questionnaires in order to
formulate a suitable instrument for data collecting (Smith, 2002):

 In order to select the proper instrument, the research objectives must be clearly matched with
the study questions.
 The sample size, sampling methodologies, as well as response rates are all taken into account
while deciding on the best instrument for each group.
 It is necessary to develop the data analysis strategies for extracting the evidence.
 It is necessary to evaluate the literature in order to connect prior research with the
methodologies employed for the same topic.
 It is necessary to present a clear image of the study criteria (for example, putting the themes in
priority order).

The original draught of the questionnaire regarding the two groups of participants (patients and
physicians) was developed using a review of past relevant research (see Appendix B). Other researchers
have were using and validated the questions (Khoja, 2007; King, et al., 2007; Werner, 2004; Mairinger, et
al., 1996; Wilson and Lankton, 2004); some questions have been modified and pretested for the Kuwaiti
setting (Khoja, 2007; King, et al., 2007; Werner, 2004; Mairinger, et al., 1996; Wilson and Lankton, 2004).

Two sorts of questions should be taken into account when constructing the questionnaire: positive and
negative worded questions. By combining positive and negative written questions, the responder will be
more aware of the significance of the questions and will be less likely to select the same answer for each
item in the questionnaire (Colosi, 2005). However, in this study, the majority of the questions in both
questionnaires were positive in tone, as the patient's critical sickness and the physician's hectic routine
work are two sensitive problems that were taken into account and acknowledged in order to meet the
study's goals.

Physicians have a critical role in the adoption of telemedicine (Vitacca et al., 2009; Gagnon et al., 2006;
Meher et al., 2009). As the telemedicine system's end users, their viewpoints on technology adoption
will be carefully considered and valued, and the outcome of the implementation may be determined by
them.

The survey questionnaire is intended to assess physician ability and willingness by exploring their
opinions about telemedicine technology acceptance within the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health, particularly
for patients with critical diseases who require expert consultations. The questionnaire is organised in a
logical, brief, and easy-to-understand manner. Avoiding difficult, unclear, and unpleasant questions is
critical when creating questionnaires (Bowling, 2002; Dane, 2003).
(1) demographic data; (2) background information; (3) satisfaction with the current referral abroad
system; (4) perceptions of telemedicine; (5) comfort with technology; and (6) desire to use telemedicine
are all covered by the questionnaire.

The front sheet, which contains the title, research study's goal, and the confidentiality proposition, is
one of four pages in the questionnaire. The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health and Brunel University, who share
responsibility for the study, have their logos on each page to show that it is approved and reputable. The
researcher's name appears at the bottom of the face sheet.

The questionnaire includes different types of questions, which have been chosen to help the physicians
respond easily. Therefore, the questions used are closed-ended.

Age, gender, nationality, specialisation, and years of experience are among the demographic data
sections in the first section of the questionnaire, which are completed as 'check the relevant response'
to indicate the information required. This should support assumptions about their basic knowledge and
attitude, as well as enable for the study of data relationships. Five closed-ended questions were used to
acquire background data on the respondent's computer/internet as well as telemedicine usage. These
questions used a 5-point Likert scale to determine physicians' Pppexperience with computer and
telemedicine use (5 = Always, 4 = Often, 3 = Sometimes, 2 = Rarely, and 1 = Never).