Benefits of and barriers to telehealth for the informal caregivers of elderly individuals in rural areas: A scoping review

Abstract

Introduction Maintaining care for elderly individuals in rural areas is heavily dependent on support from informal caregivers. Many informal caregivers of the elderly in rural areas feel burdened and urgently require professional support. Interests in telehealth that can provide support irrespective of geographical location have been increasing. Objective To identify the benefits of and barriers in telehealth engagement for rural caregivers to provide evidence for service improvement. Design A scoping review method was used following PRISMA‐ScR guidelines and Arksey and O'Malley's five‐stage framework. Five databases were searched. The search terms were chosen based on the target intervention (i.e. telehealth), target population (caregivers of elderly individuals) and target context (rural areas). Two authors independently assessed the eligibility of studies and extracted data from eligible studies. Findings Of 4220 retrieved studies, 19 articles met the inclusion criteria. This study identified four benefits of and two barriers to telehealth for rural caregivers. Four subthemes were identified as the key benefits in using telehealth for caregivers: decrease in psychological distress, increase in care efficiency, increase in social support and increase in access to resources, while inadequate telehealth infrastructures and caregivers’ own reasons were the primary barriers in using telehealth for those populations. Conclusions Telehealth was shown to significantly benefit rural caregivers. Future research can be designed and conducted for overcoming the barriers to telehealth. Additionally, the benefits identified by this review need to be translated from research into practice for rural caregivers’ care.

Palliative care needs and preferences of older adults with advanced or serious chronic illnesses and their families in rural communities of Indiana, USA

“…Despite telehealth's benefits in facilitating access to care, decreasing travel time, and reducing care cost, it is still associated with difficulties and challenges which necessitate an assessment of the pros and cons of these services from both the users' and providers' perspectives in a rural palliative care context. [34][35][36] For instance, Internet connectivity is a major issue in rural areas, which makes it challenging for patients and caregivers to access appropriate and timely care services. 34 Palliative care demands a human-centered approach, and involves physical therapeutic management in addition to psychological consultation services to improve end-of-life care.…”

“…[34][35][36] For instance, Internet connectivity is a major issue in rural areas, which makes it challenging for patients and caregivers to access appropriate and timely care services. 34 Palliative care demands a human-centered approach, and involves physical therapeutic management in addition to psychological consultation services to improve end-of-life care. Providers need to become competent in initiating difficult conversations using technology.…”

“…The use of technology and telehealth services is still under debate in the literature. Despite telehealth's benefits in facilitating access to care, decreasing travel time, and reducing care cost, it is still associated with difficulties and challenges which necessitate an assessment of the pros and cons of these services from both the users’ and providers’ perspectives in a rural palliative care context 34‐36 . For instance, Internet connectivity is a major issue in rural areas, which makes it challenging for patients and caregivers to access appropriate and timely care services 34 .…”

Knowledge Is (Still) Key: Awareness to Shape Trends in Telemedicine Use during the Pandemic Based on Management Perceptions and Implementation Systems

“…Thus, as the primary stakeholder, the government must prepare new efforts. Other studies have also noted that people still perceive telemedicine as an “alternative” way to meet their health needs [ 2 , 3 , 46 , 48 , 49 ].…”

The challenges for health professionals delivering palliative care in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic: An integrative review

“…Evidence from this review suggests that care for patients in the end stage of life cannot be delivered solely by remote means. Caregivers can also be an important resource for setting technology during virtual visits (Lyu et al 2022). Successful delivery of palliative care in the community cannot be possible without addressing the needs of family caregivers (Burholt et al 2022).…”