Telehealth and COVID-19: Factors, Facilitators, and Barriers

COLUMBIA MO, USA—Pediatric Physical Therapist Jamie B Hall from the University of Missouri talks about her group’s research published in Pediatric Physical Therapy journal surveying key factors influencing the effectiveness of telehealth methods used by pediatric physical therapists in the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic.
TITLE:
Pediatric Physical Therapy Telehealth and COVID-19: Factors, Facilitators, and Barriers Influencing Effectiveness—a Survey Study
AUTHORS:
Jamie B. Hall, PT, DPT, PhD, PCS; Morgan L. Woods, BHS, SPT; Jessica T. Luechtefeld, PT, DPT, PCS
INSTITUTIONS:
Department of Physical Therapy (Drs Hall and Luechtefeld and Ms Woods), University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri; Child’s Play Therapy, LLC (Drs Hall
and Luechtefeld and Ms Woods), Clinton, Missouri.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this study was to identify the important factors, facilitators, and barriers for telehealth effectiveness as described by pediatric physical therapists, transitioning from in-person to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODS:
Pediatric physical therapists’ responses to 3 open-ended questions and 1 multipart Likert Scale question from an anonymous survey were collected and analyzed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics.
RESULTS:
Three overarching themes (Caregiver Engagement, Technology, and Resilience) were identified and accompanied by 3 subthemes (Personal Attributes, Equity, and COVID-Specific Considerations). Themes were supported by the Likert Scale question with Child/Caregiver Interaction, Internet Connection, and Family Factors identified as the most important factors related to telehealth effectiveness.
CONCLUSIONS:
High caregiver engagement and access to stable technology were most important for telehealth effectiveness. The telehealth service model met a need during the pandemic; however, emerging evidence suggests that it could be considered as an effective service delivery mode post-pandemic.
REFERENCE:
Pediatr Phys Ther 2021;000:1–7
0898-5669/110/000000-0001
Pediatric Physical Therapy
Copyright © 2021 Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association
CORRESPONDENCE:
Jamie B. Hall, PT, DPT, PhD, PCS, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Missouri, 818 Clark Hall, 703 South 5th St, Columbia, MO 65211 ([email protected]).
At the time this article was written, Morgan L. Woods was a DPT student at the Department of Physical Therapy, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citation appears in the printed text and is provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal’s Web site (pedpt.com).