Provider and Caregiver Satisfaction with Telehealth Evaluation of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Young Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Debra L Reisinger, Elesia Hines, Christine Raches and 3 others
PMID 35579789WHAT IT FOUND
Most caregivers and providers were satisfied with telehealth autism evaluations.
Satisfaction was highest when providers were certain about the diagnosis and caregivers preferred telehealth. Technical issues did not lower caregiver satisfaction, but they did lower provider satisfaction.
Key findings
01The majority of caregivers and providers reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the telehealth autism evaluation.
02Caregivers were more satisfied if they personally preferred telehealth over in-person visits and if the provider was certain about the diagnosis.
03Providers reported lower satisfaction when they encountered technical or setup difficulties, whereas caregiver satisfaction was not significantly affected by these issues.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study excluded families who needed language interpreters, limiting generalizability to non-English speaking populations. The caregiver survey response rate was 46%, which may introduce selection bias. The study did not compare wait times or outcomes between telehealth and in-person evaluations, so it cannot claim telehealth is faster or more effective, only that it is satisfactory. The sample was unbalanced, with far more evaluations conducted by psychologists than pediatricians.
Declared interests
Funding was provided by the Robert & Helen Haddad Family Foundation and the Riley Children's Foundation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that telehealth is superior to in-person evaluation for all families. Caregivers who preferred in-person visits were significantly less satisfied with the telehealth experience, and the study did not measure diagnostic accuracy compared to in-person standards.