How Do Virtual Visits Compare? Parent Satisfaction With Pediatric Diabetes Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

BackgroundIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries relaxed restrictions on telemedicine, allowing for a robust transition to virtual visits for routine care. In response, centers rapidly instituted and scaled telemedicine for pediatric diabetes care. Despite numerous center reports on their experience, little is known about parent perspectives on the widespread increase of telemedicine for pediatric diabetes appointments.ObjectiveTo assess parent satisfaction with virtual care for pediatric diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe conducted an online, cross-sectional survey of parents of youth with diabetes who receive care at a large, academic diabetes center regarding their perspectives on newly introduced virtual appointments. Parents were surveyed at two time points during the pandemic using a validated scale which was adapted for diabetes. We explored demographic and clinical factors which may influence parental satisfaction.ResultsOverall, parents expressed high levels of satisfaction (>90%) with functional aspects of the visit, though only approximately half (56%) felt the visit was as good as an in-person encounter. Nearly three-quarters (74%) would consider using telemedicine again in the future. Prior use of telemedicine significantly influenced parent satisfaction, suggesting that parent preferences may play a role in continued use of telemedicine in the future. There was no difference in responses across the two timepoints, suggesting high satisfaction early in the pandemic which persisted.ConclusionsIf permissive policies for telemedicine continue, diabetes centers could adopt hybrid in-person and virtual care models, while considering various stakeholder perspectives (providers and patients) and equity in access to virtual care.

Caregivers’ Satisfaction of Teleconsultations and Associated Factors During COVID-19 Pandemic at Pediatric Clinics of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…22 Furthermore, our finding is lower than previous Indian and American studies that documented that more than 90% of the caregivers were satisfied with the quality of service, convenience, and benefits of teleconsultation in Indian 13 and American settings. 3 It was also quite different from the parents' satisfaction (94.2%) observed with pediatric urology telemedicine in American context 12 and the level (80.5%) reported in Italy. 23 The discrepancies in satisfaction profiles across the different settings can be justified by multiple reasons.…”

“…1 The effort to balance the ongoing need for patient care with the risks to patient and staff safety paved a way for a swift transition to virtual visits for routine care. [2][3][4] In practice, the precautions to contain the virus became an opportunity to exploit telemedicine features for clinical care. 5 As such, certain developed nations had nearly nine-fold increment in video visit consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the same previous period in an American health institution.…”

The development of evaluation scale of the patient satisfaction with telemedicine: a systematic review

“…Most of included studies ( n = 32) were conducted in United States [ 17 – 48 ], and a few were conducted in Italy ( n = 3) [ 49 – 51 ], Spain ( n = 2) [ 52 , 53 ], Egypt ( n = 1) [ 54 ], Australia ( n = 1) [ 55 ], India ( n = 1) [ 56 ], United Kingdom ( n = 1) [ 57 ], Canada( n = 1) [ 58 ], France ( n = 1) [ 59 ], Colombia ( n = 1) [ 60 ]. The vast majority included studies ( n = 38) reported on the types of participants’ diseases, which includes head and neck otolaryngology ( n = 1) [ 17 ], pediatric ( n = 1) [ 52 ], physical, occupational, and speech therapy ( n = 1) [ 18 ], orthopaedic ( n = 1) [ 19 ], pediatric pulmonary ( n = 1) [ 20 ], cancer ( n = 4) [ 21 , 30 , 50 , 58 ], neurology ( n = 1) [ 22 ], pediatric urology ( n = 1) [ 24 ], rhinology (n = 1) [ 25 ], neuromuscular disorder ( n = 1) [ 26 ], allergy ( n = 1) [ 27 ], pediatric diabetes ( n = 1) [ 28 ], epilepsy (n = 1) [ 56 ], prechemotherapy ( n = 1) [ 29 ], pediatric rheumatology ( n = 1) [ 32 ], neurosurgery (n = 1) [ 33 ], cystic fibrosis ( n = 1) [ 35 ], pediatric and young adult type 1 diabetes ( n = 1) [ 49 ], shoulder arthroscopy ( n = 1) [ 36 ], pediatric surgery ( n = 1) [ 53 ], vascular surgery ( n = 1) [ 57 ], maternal mental health and substance use disorder treatment ( n = 1) [ 38 ], referral ( n = 1) [ 39 ], dermatology ( n = 1) [ 40 ], endovascular neurosurgery ( n = 1) [ 41 ], gynecologic cancer ( n = 1) [ 42 ], orthopedic ( ...…”

“…While the remaining studies ( n = 6) did not limit the patient types [ 23 , 31 , 34 , 37 , 54 , 55 ]. For the evaluation questionnaire, there are part of studies ( n = 16) using existing questionnaires [ 17 , 22 , 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 – 34 , 42 , 46 , 47 , 50 , 55 , 56 , 58 , 59 ], a few of studies’ questionnaire ( n = 3) were designed based on different studies [ 21 , 24 , 49 ], several studies ( n = 7) evaluating by self-developed questionnaires [ 19 , 25 , 29 , 39 , 51 , 57 , 60 ], and some ( n = 18) studies did not mension the specific questionnaires used [ 18 , 20 , 23 , 27 , 31 , 35 – 38 , 40 , 41 , 43 – 45 , 48 , 52 – 54 ]. In addition, the questionnaires used in several studies ( n = 18) were divided into various dimensions [ 17 , 20 , 23 , 24 , 26 , 32 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 44 , 47 , 49 – 51 , 53 – 55 , 57 ].…”

“…Of the 44 included studies, 14 studies involved humanistic care, which includes the courtesy, friendliness, and care of doctors to patients [ 21 , 23 , 30 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 42 – 44 , 47 , 49 , 53 , 56 ]. Twenty-eight studies involved doctor-patient communication, which includes doctor’s listening to patients, doctor’s explanations to patients, and communication between doctors and patients [ 17 , 19 – 21 , 23 , 26 – 28 , 30 , 32 , 34 , 36 – 38 , 40 , 42 , 44 , 46 – 48 , 50 – 54 , 56 , 58 , 60 ]. Nine studies involved service efficiency, which includes the punctuality of the telemedicine visiting process [ 17 , 26 , 36 , 38 , 44 , 48 , 50 , 51 , 60 ].…”