International survey of audiologists during the COVID-19 pandemic: use of and attitudes to telehealth

Abstract

Objective: To determine the attitudes of audiologists towards telehealth and use of telehealth for the delivery of ear and hearing services pre-, during-and post-the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify the perceived effects of telehealth on services and barriers to telehealth. Design: An online survey distributed through the International Society of Audiology and member societies. Study sample: A total of 337 audiologists completing the survey between 23 June and 13 August 2020. Results: There was a significant increase in the perceived importance of telehealth from before (44.3%) to during COVID-19 (87.1%), and the use of telehealth previous (41.3%), current (61.9%) and expected use of telehealth (80.4%). Telehealth was considered adequate for many audiology services, although hearing assessment and device fitting by telehealth received least support. Matters related to timeliness of services and reduction of travel were reported as the main advantages, but relationships between practitioners and clients may suffer with telehealth. Important barriers were technologies related to the client or remote site; clinic-related items were moderate barriers, although more clinician training was a common theme provided through open-ended responses. Conclusion:The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in audiologists having a more positive attitude towards and greater use of telehealth, but with some reservations.

Is Teleaudiology Achieving Person-Centered Care: A Review

“…Underuse of teleaudiology services in clinical practice has been recognized globally, even after the pressures of the recent pandemic. This underuse highlights that cross-sectional and possibly global efforts to support use and implementation of teleaudiology are required [ 32 , 51 , 54 ].…”

“…The Australian Audiology standards do not recognize culture in the same context, instead emphasizing professional safety, learning, and behavior across three of the six domains listed [ 25 ]. Despite repeated evidence of clinical efficacy, the use and adoption of teleaudiology in audiological care has been clearly documented as being limited by clinician attitudes and reluctance [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ]. This review revealed a small number of studies describing the application of teleaudiology in intervention.…”

Supervising Students During a Global Pandemic: Clinical Educators’ Perceptions of a Student-Led Telerehabilitation Service During COVID-19

“…While CEs acknowledged some challenges in the context of safety of clients, particularly in PT (e.g., due to lack of physical proximity for balance or unfamiliar tasks, or with young, unsupervised clients in OT/SP) similar to previous research, this also provided an opportunity for students to develop their awareness of, and to mitigate risks ( Bridgman et al, 2022 ; Hong et al, 2020 ). Other challenges CEs described have been previously reported in the literature, including the lack of ‘hands-on’ experience ( Malliaras et al, 2021 ), difficulties with clinical equipment and device fitting ( Eikelboom et al, 2021 ) and managing clinical (diagnostic) uncertainty ( Dawson et al, 2020 ). These concerns were more pronounced for CEs in AUD and PT.…”

“…Lockdown restrictions and social distancing requirements in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 resulted in many healthcare consultations transitioning from in-person to a telehealth model of service delivery. Telehealth is a proven means of providing health care services to people who may otherwise be unable to access services due to barriers such as travel, finances, physical mobility, and access to suitable healthcare providers ( Eikelboom et al, 2021 ; Horsley et al, 2019 ; Russell et al, 2011 ; Speyer et al, 2018 ). Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the utilisation of telehealth in Australia was limited ( Wade et al, 2014 ).…”

Perceptions of Telehealth Services for Hearing Loss in South Africa’s Public Healthcare System

“…In this scenario, where outpatient services are interrupted, telehealth may help to provide immediate access to rehabilitation services, allow for continuous monitoring of patients and improve patients' health outcomes and quality of life [21]. Furthermore, there has been a global change of attitude and improvement toward telehealth for hearing loss due to the pandemic [22]. Low-and no-touch service delivery models are crucial for patients requiring hearing healthcare as many of these patients are at increased risk for COVID-19 mortality and morbidity due to their age since most patients requiring these services are above 65 years [20].…”