JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Telehealth is the use of technology to deliver healthcare in a virtual format. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted an increase in the use of telehealth.

Objective:

To review satisfaction with pediatric health care use only in studies that have at least one group of participants receiving telehealth services and at least one comparison group of participants receiving non-telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods:

We searched for peer-reviewed studies published in English that assessed satisfaction with health care use in comparison groups of participants for telehealth and non-telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted the search on September 16th, 2022, in the PubMed, CINAHL, PsychInfo, and Embase databases. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Two reviewers independently screened the titles and abstracts based on the eligibility criteria. They reviewed the full-text of the remaining articles. The following information from each eligible study was extracted by using standardized forms: country, participant characteristics by comparison group, study design and limitations in the study design, telehealth approach, measurement tools to assess satisfaction, and findings by comparison group.

Results:

All eligible 13 studies assessed satisfaction in caregivers and/or pediatric patients participating in video and/or telephone visits compared to caregivers and/or pediatric patients participating in in-person visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twelve studies were observational investigations with different designs and one study was a quasi-experimental intervention with 3 comparison groups for video, in-person, and hybrid visits. In 8 out of the 13 studies, a higher percentage of patients and/or caregivers who participated in telehealth visits expressed satisfaction with the encounter compared to patients and caregivers who participated in-person visits. Reasons caregivers were satisfied with video visits were the ease of use and the reduced need for transportation. Reasons caregivers were not satisfied with telehealth included limited personal interaction with the medical provider and technological challenges. Caregivers participating in video/telephone visits expressed concerns for the lack of a physical examination. Caregivers participating in non-telehealth services expressed that in-person interactions promoted treatment adherence. Only 1 study assessed satisfaction among patients where adolescents completed their own satisfaction surveys; in the study, a higher percentage of patients using telehealth reported effective communication with the provider compared to patients using in-person visits.

Conclusions:

Telehealth services tended to receive more favorable or comparable satisfaction ratings than in-person visits in most studies. Needed improvements in telehealth include strategies to develop better rapport between the patient/caregiver and medical provider and to address technological challenges. More studies assessing satisfaction with telehealth compared to non-telehealth services among children/adolescents as active participants responding to satisfaction surveys are needed. Interventions on the effectiveness of pediatric telehealth compared to pediatric non-telehealth services on improving satisfaction and health outcomes will be valuable. Clinical Trial: 10. Kodjebacheva GK, Culinski T, Kawser B, Coffer K. Satisfaction with pediatric telehealth services in studies with comparison groups for non-telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Inplasy protocol 202290067. Available at: https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2022-9-0067/ doi: 10.37766/inplasy2022.9.0067