This qualitative study surveyed caregivers regarding their perspectives on the benefits of, challenges with, and suggestions for improving telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caregivers who had the responsibility for caring for at least one child aged under 18 years of age in Genesee County, MI, participated. The caregivers were biological parents, stepparents, foster parents, adoptive parents, and guardians. A total of 105 caregivers completed a survey with open-ended questions via Qualtrics. Two independent coders developed themes based on the responses using grounded theory. Participants were primarily biological parents and non-Hispanic White and African Americans. According to the participants, the benefits of telehealth included prevention of exposure to the COVID-19 virus, quality communication with physicians, savings in travel time, and cost-effective methods to receive care. The challenges included a lack of in-person interaction, fear of compromised confidentiality, and the potential for misdiagnosis. Suggestions for improvement by caregivers included increasing access to telehealth for poorer families, offering a media educational campaign to promote telehealth use, and creating a universal platform to share patient information. Future studies may test the effectiveness of interventions such as those suggested by caregivers in this study to improve telehealth.

Purpose: Interprofessional education (IPE) engages health care professional students in order to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required of a health care practitioner. IPE can be challenging to execute; however, exposing students early in their professional education in IPE has positive results. Occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) are health care professions who commonly work with each other. The purpose of this study is to describe the process and outcomes of implementing an IPE experience with first year doctoral OT (OTD) and PT (DPT) students completed within the first six weeks of the first semester of their respective programs. Methods: Ninety-one (31 OTD, 60 DPT) students were placed in small groups and discussed professional identities and interprofessional collaboration among OT/PT during pre-professional observations. Students completed the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) pre-post-meeting and a written reflection post-meeting. Results: Ninety-one students completed the Pre-RIPLS survey, while only 58 Post-RIPLS were completed (13 OTD, 45 DPT). The response rate was 63.7% overall (41.9% OT and 75% PT). A statistically significant difference was found between pre- to post-test RIPLS score among the entire group (p = 0.013), and the DPT students (p = 0.020), but not the OTD students (p = 0.414). Written reflections included the following themes: influence of personal experiences leading to choice of profession, observations shaping knowledge of the professions, similarities and differences between the two professions, and future collaboration. Conclusion: An IPE activity can be implemented early in the professional education of OTD/DPT students with positive results.

INTRODUCTION Physical rehabilitation is conducted by several health care professionals, including occupational therapists and physical therapists. Developing a foundational understanding of roles, responsibilities, and teamwork is essential for students in occupational therapy and physical therapy. The Introduction to IPE event with occupational therapy and physical therapy students was successfully implemented face-to-face in the past; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was modified to an online format. This study aims to compare the outcomes of online versus face-to-face delivery methods in an introductory interprofessional education activity for occupational therapy and physical therapy students.METHODS First semester occupational therapy and physical therapy students were placed in small groups to discuss professional identities and interprofessional collaboration. Students completed the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) pre-post-meeting and a written reflection post-meeting. RESULTSNo differences in RIPLS scores were found between face-to-face and online delivery of an IPE event.Qualitatively assessed themes of the face-to-face and online students' reflections were similar in several areas. Additional themes from the online group included the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on collaborative learning activities and the disproportion of group size leading to feelings of power imbalance.DISCUSSION Online delivery of an introductory IPE offering produced similar results as face-to-face delivery.