{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Clinicians' Decision-Making Regarding Telehealth Services: Focus Group Study in Pediatric Allied Health.
{Author}: Thomas DC;Litherland EF;Masso S;Raymundo G;Keep M;
{Journal}: JMIR Form Res
{Volume}: 8
{Issue}: 0
{Year}: 2024 Jun 7
暂无{DOI}: 10.2196/46300
{Abstract}: <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Many allied health services now provide both telehealth and in-person services following a rapid integration of telehealth as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about how decisions are made about which clinical appointments to provide via telehealth versus in person.<BR><B>OBJECTIVE: </B>The aim of this study is to explore clinicians' decision-making when contemplating telehealth for their clients, including the factors they consider and how they weigh up these different factors, and the clinicians' perceptions of telehealth utility beyond COVID-19 lockdowns.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>We used reflexive thematic analysis with data collected from focus groups with 16 pediatric community-based allied health clinicians from the disciplines of speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, social work, psychology, and counseling.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>The findings indicated that decision-making was complex with interactions across 4 broad categories: technology, clients and families, clinical services, and clinicians. Three themes described their perceptions of telehealth use beyond COVID-19 lockdowns: "flexible telehealth use," "telehealth can be superior to in-person therapy," and "fear that in-person services may be replaced."<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>The findings highlight the complexity of decision-making in a community-allied health setting and the challenges experienced by clinicians when reconciling empirical evidence with their own clinical experience.