Perceptions About the Efficacy and Acceptability of Telephone and Video-Delivered Allied Health Care for Adults With Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional National Survey.
Belinda J Lawford, Rana S Hinman, Renata Morello and 3 others
PMID 35041838WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with disability and their carers rated telephone and video allied health care similarly. 74% felt safe, 61% to 67% were happy with privacy, and 56% to 64% believed care was effective.
Only 32% to 36% were likely to choose telehealth later.
Key findings
01Telephone and video experiences were similar, and experiences were similar across physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and psychology services.
0274% felt safe, 61% to 67% were happy with privacy, 56% to 64% believed care was effective, and 32% to 36% were likely to choose telehealth after the pandemic.
0317% to 26% found the technology difficult to use, 24% to 27% felt uncomfortable communicating, 17% believed care was ineffective, and 48% to 51% were unlikely to choose telehealth after the pandemic.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only Australian NDIS-funded people with permanent or significant disability, or their carers, were eligible, so it may not apply to people without NDIS support, other countries, or milder disability. Recruitment was through NDIS advertisements, social media, peak bodies and advocacy groups, not random sampling, so respondents may not represent all adults with disability. The survey was online only, which may miss people with lower digital literacy or less comfort with technology. Carers or parents completed 42% of surveys, and it is unclear whether they reported their own experience or the person with disability's experience. 77% had not used telehealth with an allied health clinician before the pandemic, so views may change with more experience. The study measured perceptions of acceptability and effectiveness, not clinical outcomes, so it cannot show whether telehealth worked. When respondents had multiple professions or modalities, only one was randomly chosen, so the analysis may not capture all their experiences. Subgroup analyses by disability type were not possible because there were many disability types and very small numbers in each subgroup.
Declared interests
No funding source or conflict of interest statement is included in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that telephone or video care works for adults with disability. Participants only rated how acceptable and effective they felt the care was, and 56% to 64% believed it was effective. The study did not measure clinical outcomes.