Survival of rural telehealth services post‐pandemic in Australia: A call to retain the gains in the ‘new normal’

Caffery, Lisa A.; Muurlink, Olav; Taylor‐Robinson, Andrew W.

doi:10.1111/ajr.12877

Cited by 18 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“… 17 – 21 Australia has a high rate of urbanisation with 72% of the population living in major cities/metropolitan areas 22 served by city-based clustering of hospitals and health professionals. 23 This is comparable with median urbanisation levels across countries of Europe and Northern America (74% in 2018) and well above those in China (59%) and India (34%). 24…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Potential ACS providers and funders could be encouraged to broaden the scope and reach of the clinical workforce. Expanding modes of service delivery, retaining and learning from the COVID-19 related escalation in telehealth delivery, 23 and prioritising funding models that incorporate the provision of devices and a base from which to deliver the care are indicated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Australian airway clearance services for adults with chronic lung conditions: A national survey

2023

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Background Physiotherapy-led airway clearance interventions are indicated for some people with chronic lung conditions. This study describes Australian clinical models for the provision of adult airway clearance services. Methods This cross-sectional national study recruited public and private health care providers (excluding cystic fibrosis-specific services) identified by a review of websites. Providers were invited to complete an electronic 61-item survey with questions about airway clearance service context, referral demographics, service provision and program metrics. Data were reported descriptively with differences between metropolitan and non-metropolitan services explored with chi-square tests. Results Between October-December 2019, the survey was disseminated to 131 providers with 91 responses received (69% response rate; 87 (96%) public (34 metropolitan; 53 non-metropolitan) and 4 (4%) private). Intent (chronic condition self-management) and types of intervention provided (education, breathing techniques, exercise prescription) were common across all services. Geographic location was associated with differences in airway clearance service models (greater use of regular clinics, telephone/telehealth consultations and dedicated cardiorespiratory physiotherapists in metropolitan locations versus clients incurring service and device provision costs in non-metropolitan regions). Conclusions While similarities in airway clearance interventions exist, differences in service models may disadvantage people living with chronic lung conditions, especially in non-metropolitan regions of Australia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australian airway clearance services for adults with chronic lung conditions: A national survey

2023

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“…It took a global pandemic to expedite action despite decades of calls to improve digital connectivity and ensure the building blocks of the right digital architecture are in place. Urban policymakers and urban dwellers would not tolerate the rural digital access and connectivity issues that have been well-documented for decades [ 31 ]. The UK Government is not unique in stating that inferior digital infrastructure is beyond acceptable [ 2 , 3 , 19 ], but these comments are about all areas of the NHS, not just rural.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much of the existing literature over the last decades has been about chronicling challenges of why telehealth was difficult to implement [1][2][3]17]. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a seismic paradigm shift as urban dwellers suddenly experienced what rural people had reported for decades: isolation and inability to easily access healthcare [31]. Without diminishing the impact of the pandemic globally, some argue that the rapid overturning of barriers and unprecedented acceleration of telehealth usage [3,4,17,[20][21][22] was because of urban paternalism [31] and urban policymakers who had their myopic blinders about isolation and inequity rapidly blown off.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mental health professionals and telehealth in a rural setting: a cross sectional survey

Nelson

Inghels

Kenny

et al. 2023

BMC Health Serv Res

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Background Telehealth usage has been promoted in all settings but has been identified as a panacea to issues of access and equity in the rural context. However, uptake and widespread integration of telehealth across all parts of the health system has been slow, with a myriad of barriers documented, including in rural settings. The crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, saw barriers rapidly overturned with the unprecedented and exponential rise in telehealth usage. The uniqueness of the crisis forced telehealth adoption, but as the urgency stabilises, pandemic learnings must be captured, utilised, and built upon in a post-pandemic world. The aim of this study was to document staff experiences and perceptions of delivering rural psychological therapies via telehealth during the pandemic and to capture learnings for future rural telehealth delivery. Methods An online cross-sectional survey that explored mental health professional’s experiences, use, and perceptions of telehealth before and after pandemic-enforced changes to service delivery. Results Sixty-two respondents completed the questionnaire (response rate 68%). Both the delivery of telehealth via telephone and online video conferencing significantly increased during the pandemic (66% vs 98%, p < .001 for telephone and 10% vs 89%, p < 0.001 for online video). Respondents indicated that client’s access to services and attendance had improved with telehealth use but their attention and focus during sessions and non-verbal communication had been negatively affected. The challenges for older adults, people with learning and sensory disabilities, and residents in remote areas with poorer mobile/internet connectivity were identified. Despite these challenges, none of the respondents indicated a preference to return to fully face-to-face service delivery with most (86%) preferring to deliver psychological therapies fully or mostly via telehealth. Conclusions This study addresses three major gaps in knowledge: the experience of delivering local telehealth solutions to address rural mental health needs, the provision of strong rural-specific telehealth recommendations, and the dearth of rural research emanating from the United Kingdom. As the world settles into a living with COVID-19 era, the uniqueness of the rural telehealth context may be forgotten as urban myopia continues to dominate telehealth policy and uptake. It is critical that rural resourcing and digital connectivity are addressed.

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Palliative Care in Rural Settings

Rainsford

2024

Textbook of Palliative Care

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Survival of rural telehealth services post‐pandemic in Australia: A call to retain the gains in the ‘new normal’

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 18 publications

References 17 publications

Australian airway clearance services for adults with chronic lung conditions: A national survey

Australian airway clearance services for adults with chronic lung conditions: A national survey

Mental health professionals and telehealth in a rural setting: a cross sectional survey

Palliative Care in Rural Settings

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