Navigating crisis: teleconsultation use and its determinants among internally displaced persons in wartime Sudan

Amidst the ongoing conflict in Sudan, several voluntary initiatives have emerged to address the collapse of the healthcare system. This study aimed to investigate the utilization and determinants of teleconsultation services among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan. This descriptive cross-sectional community-based study was conducted among IDPs in Shendi city, Sudan. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 600 adult IDPs from 10 clusters within the city. Data were collected between the 1st and the 27th of December 2024, through face‒to-face interviews. Data were collected using a structured, closed-ended questionnaire, specifically developed for the study, and administered by ten trained data collectors via the Kobo Collect platform. The data were analyzed via the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 26. The mean age of the participants was 36.9 years (SD = 15), with 58.2% female. Over half (51.7%) had been displaced for more than a year. Smartphone ownership (77.5%) and internet access (73.0%) were high. Teleconsultation utilization was low (19.2%). Nearly half of the respondents (48.5%) felt uneasy discussing sensitive health issues over teleconsultation, and 52.8% lacked trust in the diagnoses provided through the service. Factors associated with increased utilization included female gender, employment, chronic illness, social media use, and prior teleconsultation experience. Over 80% of the users expressed satisfaction with the service. No association was found between the acceptability of teleconsultation and its actual utilization. Teleconsultation offers a valuable healthcare delivery tool for IDPs in conflict settings. However, its low utilization highlights the need for strategic planning and targeted interventions to enhance uptake. Ongoing monitoring and adaptation are essential to ensure the service remains responsive to the evolving challenges of conflict-affected contexts.