If You Give Them Away, It Still May Not Work: Challenges to Video Telehealth Device Use Among the Urban Homebound

Maria Loizos, Abigail Baim-Lance, Katherine A. Ornstein, Sara Lubetsky, Lylyan Salas-Belkin, Silvia Chavez, Meng Zhang, Linda V. DeCherrie, Peter M. Gliatto

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

The growing homebound population may particularly benefit from video telehealth. However, some patients do not have the ability or resources to successfully use this modality. This report presents the experience of a large urban home-based primary care program disseminating cellular-enabled tablets with basic instruction to a subset of its patients who would not otherwise have had the ability to engage in video telehealth. Program goals included: increasing the number of patients able to engage in video encounters and leveraging technology to help achieve greater equity. While 123 homebound patients received devices for telehealth, only one-third successfully utilized them. We identified multiple barriers to telehealth utilization beyond physical access to a device, including a lack of skill. Efforts to increase video encounters among patient groups who are less experienced with technology cannot simply rely on device provision or basic instruction but must include reinforced learning strategies combined with ongoing technical assistance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1896-1902
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Applied Gerontology
Volume42
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2023

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • access to care
  • home care
  • technology

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