Occupational Therapy Practitioner Perspectives of the Role of Caregivers in Video Telehealth.
Megan E Gately, Dylan Waller, Emily E Metcalf and 1 others
PMID 36169296WHAT IT FOUND
OT practitioners said caregivers let patients with technology, sensory, cognitive, mental health, or physical barriers join video telehealth OT sessions.
Practitioners said caregivers also helped with set-up, communication, device positioning, measurements, and safety, while absent caregivers, privacy, and caregiver difficulty were barriers.
Key findings
01OT practitioners said caregiver involvement allowed patients who otherwise might not be able to participate in video telehealth to do so.
02Caregivers assisted with both technological and clinical aspects of video telehealth OT sessions.
03OT practitioners reported barriers, including patients lacking a caregiver and reduced privacy when household members were present.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study interviewed OT practitioners only, so it reports their perceptions, not patient or caregiver experiences or measured outcomes. The high enrollment rate may reflect response bias because participants were invited through internal VHA data and may have felt pressured. VHA has longstanding telehealth reimbursement and infrastructure, so results may not generalize to other health systems. The sample was 25 occupational therapists and 2 OT assistants, 22 female and 23 White, and all had video telehealth experience, which may not represent all OT practitioners.
Declared interests
The authors disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that caregiver participation improves patient outcomes. The study reports OT practitioners' perceptions of caregivers' role in video telehealth and did not measure patient outcomes.