Telehealth Education Research Articles

Telehealth Education in Athletic Training

Context: Within the broad telehealth education literature, there are numerous case studies and position statements from various associations of model practices. Little is known about how athletic training is addressing telehealth education. Objective: To determine how athletic training education programs teach, assess, and structure telehealth content. Design: Cross-sectional study Setting: Online survey instrument Patients or Other Participants: An institutional athletic training faculty member from 82 athletic training programs in the United States. Data Collection and Analysis: The survey contained the validated Telehealth Evaluative Content in Higher Education (TECHE) instrument, which consisted of descriptive items focused on how education programs teach, assess, and deliver telehealth education content. Data were cleaned and basic descriptive statistics were calculated. Results: Of the program faculty that responded, 49% (n=39) reported that their program includes telehealth content. Specifically, 19 programs (49%) taught about the knowledge, skills, and abilities using multiple presentations across the curriculum (42%, n = 8) ,including techniques such as class discussions (68%, n = 13) and lectures (63%, n = 12). For assessment, 17 programs (44%) included simulations (65%, n = 11) evaluated most commonly by faculty (82%, n = 14). Only 14 (36%) programs created telehealth clinical experiences including practice with simulated patients throughout all the domains of telehealth skills. When programs included telehealth clinical experiences, they mainly focused (28%, n = 16) on orthopedics and (26%, n = 15) on primary care experiences. Discussion: The development of telehealth content should be based on model practices and delivered across multiple curriculum presentations. Assessment should incorporate various perspectives and utilize different methods. Practice opportunities with classmates and simulated patients that require interpersonal communication, data gathering, and patient education should be developed. Conclusion: While a slight majority of programs do not teach telehealth content, those that do teach telehealth utilize various strategies. Most program faculty use simulations conducted by faculty to assess orthopedic and primary care telehealth content.

The Telehealth Education for Asthma Connecting Hospital and Home (TEACHH) pilot study

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of a novel intervention of health literacy-informed, telemedicine-enhanced asthma education and home management support for hospitalized children and caregivers, and assess caregiver perspectives of the intervention. Methods We conducted a pilot randomized trial of the Telehealth Education for Asthma Connecting Hospital and Home (TEACHH) intervention vs. standardized care (SC) for children (5–13 yrs) hospitalized with asthma. Participants in TEACHH received health literacy-informed teaching prior to discharge, including pictorial materials (e.g. flipchart, action plan), color- and shape-coded medication labels, and medication demonstration. Two Zoom-based follow-up teaching visits were completed within 1-month of discharge. Feasibility was assessed by tracking visit completion, and we measured preliminary outcomes using health records (i.e. total asthma-related acute healthcare visits) and blinded surveys of caregivers 2-, 4-, and 6-months post-discharge (i.e. symptom-free days, quality of life). We interviewed caregivers about their perceptions of TEACHH. Transcripts were coded inductively. Results We enrolled 26 children and interviewed 14 caregivers (9 TEACHH, 5 SC). All inpatient sessions were completed, as were 77% of virtual visits. Both groups experienced improved symptoms and quality of life over time. Caregivers valued the teaching, involvement of children, visual tools, and color-coded information of TEACHH. They described child-specific benefits, greater support after discharge, and improved asthma-related communication, and indicated that other families would benefit from similar teaching. Conclusions A novel program of patient-centered asthma education was feasible in both hospital and home settings and well received by caregivers. A larger study is needed to assess the impact of TEACHH on childhood asthma morbidity. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT04995692 (Registration date 8/9/2021)

Telehealth Challenges in Nursing: A Narrative Review

Background: Telehealth, employing technology such as Internet-based video, live chat, or telephone, has become essential for enhancing healthcare accessibility and cost-effectiveness. Despite its benefits, telehealth adoption faces challenges, particularly among nurses. This narrative review investigates the specific challenges nurses encounter with telehealth, focusing on a lack of training and resistance to change. Methods: The review analyzed literature from Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. A narrative review methodology was used, whereby the retrieved studies were thematically synthesized to address the review’s aim. Results: The search yielded eight primary studies. Findings of the narrative synthesis reveal that inadequate training is a significant barrier, with nurses often lacking the time and resources to engage in telehealth training. Additionally, resistance to change, influenced by workflow interruptions and discomfort with being monitored, further hampers adoption. Recommendations: Recommendations include addressing nursing understaffing, integrating telehealth education into nursing curricula, and developing tailored training programs. Future research should focus on nurses' unique perspectives and test interventions to address identified challenges. Understanding and addressing these barriers can enhance telehealth integration in nursing, ultimately improving healthcare delivery.

Continuous nursing for infants with congenital talipes equinovarus undergoing Ponseti therapy and telehealth education for their parents via WeChat: a single center retrospective study.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of continuous nursing and telehealth education via WeChat in infants with congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV) undergoing Ponseti therapy on reducing complications, care burden, and improving the quality of life for parents. This is a single-center retrospective study. From July 2021 to December 2022, 44 CTEV children who undergoing Ponseti treatment in our hospital who received continuous nursing and telehealth education via WeChat (experimental group). In addition, during January 2020 to June 2021, 44 children with CTEV treated with Ponseti in our hospital who received routine nursing and traditional health education were selected as the control group. The incidence of complications, parental care burden and parental quality of life were compared between the two groups. There was no significant difference in the demographic characteristics of patients and parents between the two groups, and the groups were comparable (p > 0.05). The incidence of complications including plaster loosens, plaster falling off, pressure ulcer was significantly lower in the intervention group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Parents in the intervention group experienced significantly lower care burdens compared to those in the control group (p < 0.05). The quality of life of parents in the intervention group was significantly higher than that for the control group (p < 0.05). There were significant differences in the incidence of complications, the care burden of parents and the quality of life of parents between the two groups. This study found that continuous nursing and telehealth education via WeChat group during Ponsetis treatment of children with CTEV can effectively reduce complications, reduce the care burden of parents and improve the quality of life of parents. This method is simple and convenient, especially worthy of application and promotion in medically underdeveloped areas.

Telehealth vs in-person education for enhancing self-care of ostomy patients (Self-Stoma): Protocol for a noninferiority, randomized, open-label, controlled trial.

Postoperative patients with ostomies experience significant changes in their lives as a result of the device implantation. Self-care is important to improve their health outcomes. Telehealth provides an opportunity to expand access to self-care education. This is a multicenter, non-inferiority randomized, open-label, controlled trial to evaluate the non-inferiority of a telehealth intervention to the standard in-person approach in improving self-care behaviors. Three hundred and eighty-four patients aged ≥ 18 years, with a recently placed ostomy, no stomal/peristomal complications, and documented cognitive integrity will be randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either a telehealth intervention (four remote educational sessions) or a standard educational approach (four in-person sessions) delivered in outpatient settings. Every session (remote and in-person) will occur on Days 25, 32, 40, and 60 after discharge. Follow-ups will occur 1, 3, and 6 months after the last intervention session. Primary outcome is self-care maintenance measured using the Ostomy Self-care Index (OSCI). Secondary outcomes include self-care monitoring, self-care management, self-efficacy (OSCI), quality of life (Stoma specific quality of Life), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), adjustment (Ostomy Adjustment Inventory-23), stomal and peristomal complication rates, healthcare services utilization, mobility, and number of working days lost. Analyses will be performed per intention-to-treat and per protocol. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of the main center (registration number: 119/22). Following completion of the trial, dissemination meetings will be held to share the results of the study with the participants and the health-care team. Adoption of telehealth technologies for ostomy patients can improve service organization by ensuring better integration and continuity of care. If the remote intervention produces comparable effects to the in-person intervention, it would be wise to make telehealth education an alternative treatment for addressing the educational needs of uncomplicated postoperative ostomy patients. ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier number: NCT05796544).

Advances in Pediatric Telehealth Education and Training: A National Survey.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the formal integration of telehealth into education curricula and training programs, prompting the need to reevaluate the current landscape and inform a research agenda. We developed a survey to assess telehealth education and training curriculum, competencies, certification, and research across pediatric medical centers. Methods: Questions were derived from a previously published national survey and de novo. The survey was distributed across national pediatric professional associations. Results: In total, 32 respondents representing medical centers (86.5%) were providing telehealth education and/or training. Most were internally developed didactic (78.6%) and experiential (64.3%) curricula. Respondents who included education and/or training in telehealth research protocols and conducted telehealth research (74%) reported mandatory or optional training in tele-research. A form of certification was preferred by most organizations (>60%). Conclusion: Telehealth education and training are key factors within current and future service development, provision, and research to demonstrate competencies and positively impact patient care.

Synchronous Telehealth Fatigue Among Health Care Providers

With the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, health care quickly shifted from in-person visits to virtual care. Although telehealth offers numerous benefits, this change in workflow presented new challenges and potentially undesired outcomes for health care providers. Emerging research suggests that excessive time engaging in video conferencing can lead to fatigue and burnout. However, little is known about how telehealth providers are affected. This pilot study aimed to determine whether telehealth providers experience synchronous telehealth fatigue and its association with factors such as the number of hours worked daily, work environment, work location, characteristics of breaks, telehealth education, and resiliency.

Effect of telehealth education on women’s knowledge regarding risk factors and early detection of breast cancer

Background The most frequent cancer that affects women worldwide is breast cancer (BC). Through comprehension of risk factors and early detection approaches, women can become more adept at managing their journey toward breast health. Aim The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of telehealth education on women’s knowledge regarding risk factors and early detection of BC. Design A quasi-experimental (pre- and post test) design was used to achieve the current study aim. Setting The current study was carried out at family health centers in Cairo City, Egypt. Sample A purposive sample of 300 women was recruited for the current study. Tools Two tools were used for data collection. Tool (I): Demographic and medical-related data form and Tool (II) BC Knowledge Questionnaire. Results The current findings disclosed that there were statistically significant differences between all knowledge dimensions’ mean scores of BC risk factors related to knowledge pre-, post-, and follow-up telehealth sessions (P value= 0.0001). Also, the study finding indicated that 73% of participants got a satisfactory knowledge level regarding BC risk factors and early detection after sessions, which increased to 86.7% after 3 months. Conclusion The implementation of telehealth education has a significant effect on improving women’s knowledge regarding BC risk factors and early detection. Recommendations Promotion and development of telehealth education programs to raise women’s knowledge about BC risk factors and early detection

Telehealth Virtual Simulation Across the Family Nurse Practitioner Curriculum.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing recognizes telehealth education as an essential aspect of nurse practitioner (NP) education because it increases accessibility to health care. Studies reported in the literature have focused on NP telehealth simulation, but findings for the inclusion of simulation in multiple courses throughout the curriculum are scarce. This pre- and post-survey design study aimed to evaluate family nurse practitioner students' perceptions of knowledge, confidence, and attitudes regarding telehealth before and after engaging in telehealth virtual simulations in six courses. Simulations were rated highly and telehealth knowledge increased in three of the six courses.

Physiotherapy students'attitudes toward the use of telehealth in clinical practice: A cross-sectional survey.

Provision of physiotherapy services using telehealth has drastically increased since the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to be utilized in clinical practice suggesting telehealth in physiotherapy will become common practice. Prior research has explored the attitudes of physiotherapists with many years of in-person clinical experience toward telehealth. However, little is known about the emerging workforce'sattitudes. This study aims to explore physiotherapy students'attitudes toward the use of telehealth in clinical practice. A cross-sectional online survey of physiotherapy students enrolled in the Doctor of Physiotherapy program at Macquarie University between November 2022 and February 2023. Participants rated their level of agreement across 11 statements regarding telehealth use in physiotherapy clinical practice using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree."Participants answered two open-ended questions regarding when they might use telehealth in clinical practice as a physiotherapist and why they believe physiotherapists might be reluctant to use telehealth in clinical practice. A total of 118 participants completed the survey (response rate 53%). Overall, most participants believed telehealth would continue being offered post-Covid-19 (86%, n = 101), participants would use some form of telehealth in clinical practice (82%, n 96), believe a blended approach would be beneficial for patients (84%, n = 99), and were interested in further training in telehealth (90%, n = 107). We identified six broad themes, including accessibility, subsequent consultations, inability to provide manual therapies, limited training/education, perceived ineffectiveness, and digital literacy of the patient. Overall physiotherapy students believe telehealth will continue being offered in clinical practice, form part of contemporary physiotherapy practice, and are interested in further training to upskill in the delivery of care via telehealth. Given the continued use and students'demand for future training, it may be time to reimagine the inclusion of telehealth education and training in the entry-level physiotherapy curriculum.

Evaluation of a student telehealth rotation at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine.

This study aimed to assess the impact of a telehealth rotation on the perceived benefits and challenges of telehealth use among third-year dental students at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (CDM). A newly implemented weeklong telehealth rotation at CDM engaged all 95 third-year dental students from the 2022 graduating class through assigned readings and virtual interaction with patients. The telehealth rotation involves virtual visits with patients for screening and triage. An ongoingretrospective assessment of the students' post-rotation evaluation was analyzed qualitatively to identify emerging themes and was coded to describe students' attitudes and beliefs about telehealth. Students reported that the greatest benefit of telehealth is logistical convenience, while the greatest challenge to telehealth is related to the use of technology. After the telehealth rotation, students reported improvement in their clinically relevant skills and knowledge, including patient education, facilitating access to care, and communication skills. The skills reported by students as the most important learning takeaway from the telehealth rotation are applicable to many aspects of care delivery, beyond the scope of telehealth. The incorporation of telehealth education into dental curricula allows students to improve essential clinically relevant skills and knowledge beyond the procedural skills emphasized during in-person patient appointments.

Telehealth Education in Allied Health Care and Nursing: Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey of Students' Perceived Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes, and Experience.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the growing relevance of telehealth in health care. Assessing health care and nursing students' telehealth competencies is crucial for its successful integration into education and practice. We aimed to assess students' perceived telehealth knowledge, skills, attitudes, and experiences. In addition, we aimed to examine students' preferences for telehealth content and teaching methods within their curricula. We conducted a cross-sectional web-based study in May 2022. A project-specific questionnaire, developed and refined through iterative feedback and face-validity testing, addressed topics such as demographics, personal perceptions, and professional experience with telehealth and solicited input on potential telehealth course content. Statistical analyses were conducted on surveys with at least a 50% completion rate, including descriptive statistics of categorical variables, graphical representation of results, and Kruskal Wallis tests for central tendencies in subgroup analyses. A total of 261 students from 7 bachelor's and 4 master's health care and nursing programs participated in the study. Most students expressed interest in telehealth (180/261, 69% very or rather interested) and recognized its importance in their education (215/261, 82.4% very or rather important). However, most participants reported limited knowledge of telehealth applications concerning their profession (only 7/261, 2.7% stated profound knowledge) and limited active telehealth experience with various telehealth applications (between 18/261, 6.9% and 63/261, 24.1%). Statistically significant differences were found between study programs regarding telehealth interest (P=.005), knowledge (P<.001), perceived importance in education (P<.001), and perceived relevance after the pandemic (P=.004). Practical training with devices, software, and apps and telehealth case examples with various patient groups were perceived as most important for integration in future curricula. Most students preferred both interdisciplinary and program-specific courses. This study emphasizes the need to integrate telehealth into health care education curricula, as students state positive telehealth attitudes but seem to be not adequately prepared for its implementation. To optimally prepare future health professionals for the increasing role of telehealth in practice, the results of this study can be considered when designing telehealth curricula.

The impact of telehealth education on self-management in patients with coexisting type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension: a 26-week randomized controlled trial.

The prevalence of coexisting type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension is increasing globally and posing significant health challenges. Effective self-management is crucial for controlling the disease and preventing complications. Telehealth education has emerged as a promising approach to enhancing self-management. This study aimed to investigate the effects of telehealth education on glycolipid metabolism, blood pressure, and self-management in patients with coexisting type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. This study included 174 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and hypertension from October 2022 to March 2023 at the 900th Hospital of the Joint Logistic Support Force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The patients were randomly assigned to the control group or the telehealth education group. The control group received conventional diabetes education including diet and exercise guidance, while the telehealth education group received additional online education through the WeChatapplication. Both groups were followed up for 26weeks and the changes in glycolipid metabolism, blood pressure, and self-management were compared between the groups. After 26weeks of intervention, the telehealth education group showed statistically significant reductions in weight, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, 2h postprandial blood glucose, and hemoglobin A1c compared to the control group (P < 0.05). The telehealth education group also exhibited a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein-C level (P < 0.05). The Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities score, which reflects the level of diabetes self-management, demonstrated that the telehealth education group had a significantly better total score as well as superior scores in all five sub-categories (diet, blood glucose testing, medication use, and foot care) compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Our findings confirmed that telehealth education effectively enhanced the self-management capabilities of patients with coexisting type 2 diabetes and hypertension, leading to better glycolipid and blood pressure control. The use of telehealth education may potentially improve the interaction between medical staff and patients in the management of chronic diseases.

Telehealth program for symptomatic COVID-19 patients in Mindanao, Philippines: a whole-of-system, pragmatic interventional study on patient monitoring from isolation facilities to community reintegration

The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting individuals and society's physical and mental health. Despite the lack of any definite and effective therapeutic regimen, public health measures such as quarantine and isolation have been instituted to contain this pandemic. However, these mitigating measures have also raised issues regarding isolated patients' mental and psychological well-being. Several stakeholders were engaged in this approach, including the university, the local health office, the tertiary hospital, and the local communities. This intervention addresses concerns regarding the health status of isolated individuals due to COVID-19 infection, making the program available to anyone who agrees to participate. This was done through telehealth services delivered via phone calls and SMS. The university provided technical support and telehealth manpower through medical students. The local health unit manages the isolation facilities, while the referral hospital offers specialty care for isolated patients through teleconsultation. Finally, the local community is the one that reintegrates discharged patients into their communities. Three hundred forty-four (344) participants were provided seven sessions on telehealth education and tracking of their COVID-19 prescribed practices and mental health. The mean age of the patients was 37 years; half were females, and 15% had comorbidities. Regarding their mental health status, the level of depression dropped from 6% to 1% (p<0.0001), the level of anxiety dropped from 12% to 2% (p<0.0001), and the level of stress dropped from 3% to 0% (p<0.0001) from the first day of admission to 2 weeks after discharge. Moreover, a general trend of statistically significant increase in various practices was noted: wearing face masks, physical distancing, disinfecting frequently held objects, hand hygiene, and self-monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms. Those with progressing symptoms of COVID-19 were referred immediately to the referral hospital. There were also no reports of complications of co-morbidities during their stay in the isolation facilities or social isolation upon community reintegration. The study concludes that telehealth services have the potential to address many challenges in providing continuous healthcare services to isolated patients until they are reintegrated into their community. Furthermore, a whole-of-society approach is necessary to provide holistic care to patients affected by the pandemic.

Telehealth Education for Pregnant Women as an Effort to Increase Knowledge about Hypertension in Pregnancy

Background: One of the main indicators of a country's health degree is the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). The priority problem for the health sector in Indonesia is the high maternal mortality rate. Knowledge is one of the components of predisposing factors that are important for health behaviors. An Efforts to increase knowledge is by providing health education&#x0D; Method: The research method was quantitative research with a quasi-experiment research (pseudo-experiment). The research design was a one-group pretest and posttest design. The number of respondents who were used as research samples was 56 people. The research was conducted on pregnant women using WhatsApp lectures.&#x0D; Results: From the results of the study, it was found that there was a difference in the average value of knowledge of pregnant women before and after education, where in the pre-test, it was 73.14 with a standard deviation of 27.260 and in the post-test, it was 89.00 with a standard deviation of 14.791. The results of the analysis obtained a p value of 0.001, so it can be concluded that there is a significant difference between the average value of the level of knowledge in the pre-test and post-test. The data analysis used is Paired T-Test.&#x0D; Conclusion: There is a significant difference between the value before and after education through pretest and posttest delivered with telehealth media.

Enhancing Telehealth Accessibility for Older Adults in Underserved Areas: A 4M Framework Approach.

Background: Telehealth has emerged as a vital alternative to traditional healthcare delivery, particularly for rural and underserved populations. While efforts to enhance telehealth accessibility have primarily focused on technological solutions, the effectiveness of its telehealth and the role of physician training in bridging racial and ethnic disparities in telehealth usage remains underexplored. This study evaluates the impact of a trained-physician-delivered, age-friendly telehealth model on healthcare accessibility and outcomes. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 214 older patients (60+) at an urban primary care facility in Nevada, USA. Patients received telehealth services from either trained or non-trained physicians, with the trained group utilizing a 4M-based telehealth model focusing on Medication, Mentation, Mobility, and What Matters. Results: Findings revealed lower exposure to both general and 4M-based telehealth among Hispanic and Asian patients compared to their white counterparts. Telehealth usage did not significantly reduce hospital or emergency department visits overall. However, certain types of 4M-based telehealth, such as What Matters and Medications, reduced hospital and ED visits. Implications: The development and implementation of telehealth education curricula for healthcare providers could make telehealth more accessible to minority patients, potentially reducing unnecessary emergency department visits and addressing disparities in telehealth access.

Telehealth Competencies: Training Physicians for a New Reality?

In North America, telehealth increased by 40% between 2019 and 2020 and stabilized at 40% in 2021. As telehealth becomes more common, it is essential to ensure that healthcare providers have the required skills to overcome the challenges and barriers of this new modality of care. While the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the design and implementation of telehealth curricula in healthcare education programs, its general adoption is still a major gap and an important barrier to ensuring scaling up and sustainability of the telesshealth practice. Lack of experienced faculty and limited curricular time are two of the most common barriers to expanding telehealth education. Overcoming the barriers of telehealth curricula implementation may require moving away from the classic expert model of learning in which novices learn from experts. As the adoption of telehealth curricula is still in its early stages, institutions may need to plan for faculty development and trainee education at the same time. Questions regarding the timing and content of telehealth education, the interprofessional development of curricula, and the identification of optimal pedagogical methods remain open and crucial. This article reflects on these questions and presents telesimulation as an ideal instructional method for the training of telehealth competencies. Telesimulation can provide opportunities for practical training across a range of telehealth competencies, fostering not only technical proficiency but also communication skills and interprofessional collaboration.

Pengembangan Model Edukasi Telehealth terhadap Pencegahan Perilaku Seksual Pranikah pada Remaja: Literatur Review

Pre-marital sexual behavior in adolescents can influence developmental tasks and increase risky behaviors such as unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Social media, gadget influence, and inappropriate peer selection play a role in these occurrences. Peer education models through counselling centers in schools are crucial in providing insights and experiences for better and healthier behavior. Telehealth models serve as an educational method that can reduce pre-marital sexual behavior by providing information on reproductive health and preventing pre-marital sexual behavior. The research method used was a comprehensive literature review. A total of 11 articles meeting inclusion criteria were found, utilizing educational media through m-health, WhatsApp groups, videos, and leaflets. Data gathered included insights into sexual diseases, positive attitudes towards change, adolescent knowledge and interests, education level, gender, self-efficacy, general health status, socioeconomic status, living conditions, healthcare facilities, and marital status. Clinical practice implications through peer education can enhance adolescent knowledge, thus potentially reducing premarital sexual relationships and unwanted pregnancies among adolescents. Based on the literature study, the telehealth education model can be further developed using other theoretical models to make its implementation more comprehensive.

Supporting Vulnerable Older Adults With Telehealth Through Wellness Calls and Tablet Distribution During COVID-19: Quality Improvement Project.

Loneliness, social isolation, and lack of technical literacy are associated with poorer health outcomes. To help improve social connection during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nova Southeastern University's South Florida Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program partnered with a community-based organization to provide educational resources to promote telehealth services. This study aimed to provide educational resources to older adults with limited resources and promote the use of telehealth services in this population. Through this pilot project, we contacted 66 vulnerable older adults who expressed interest in telehealth support through wellness calls, with 44 participants moving on to participate in tablet usage. All tablets were preloaded with educational information on using the device, COVID-19 resources, and accessing telehealth services for patients, caregivers, and families. Feedback from wellness assessments suggested a significant need for telehealth support. Participants used the tablets mainly for telehealth (n=6, 15%), to connect with friends and family (n=10, 26%), and to connect with faith communities (n=3, 8%). The findings from the pilot project suggest that wellness calls and telehealth education are beneficial to support telehealth usage among older adults.

Developing Family Nurse Practitioner Student Competencies: A Two-Part Mental Health-Focused Telehealth Education Activity

Telehealth is becoming a vital option for increasing access to health care. Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs) are often the primary providers for rural and disadvantaged populations. They may be the first to encounter patients experiencing depression and other psychiatric problems. This article describes a two-part simulated telehealth education initiative to build FNP student competencies in the use of telehealth technology to interview clients with depressive symptoms.In Part 1, students completed didactic modules that introduced them to telehealth concepts. In Part 2, they participated in a simulated telehealth encounter with a standardized patient experiencing depression. Preparation included a review of care of patients with depression and focused content on telehealth etiquette. After the encounter, they received feedback from the standardized patient, debriefed with faculty, and documented their simulated telehealth visit. The activity was evaluated through post-education surveys and a one-time focus group.Students were overwhelmingly positive regarding the relevance of the educational activity to their graduate preparation and future practice. Many shared suggestions for refinement of the activity. Integration into the current curriculum and use of existing resources increased the feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and potential for long-term sustainability of the educational initiative.