Evaluation of a Telehealth Paediatric Asthma and Allergy Clinic Patient Follow-Up During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Background/Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic created many challenges for health services, particularly during lockdown periods. Asthma is one of the most common childhood conditions, and children with asthma are generally cared for in an outpatient setting. In regional Northwest Tasmania, during the...
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/12/1507 |
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| author | Sarah J. Prior Gaylene Bassett Emmeline Van Beek Claire Griffiths Smriti Sinha Shrima Shrestha Sukhwinder Singh Sohal Heinrich Christoph Weber |
| author_facet | Sarah J. Prior Gaylene Bassett Emmeline Van Beek Claire Griffiths Smriti Sinha Shrima Shrestha Sukhwinder Singh Sohal Heinrich Christoph Weber |
| author_sort | Sarah J. Prior |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background/Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic created many challenges for health services, particularly during lockdown periods. Asthma is one of the most common childhood conditions, and children with asthma are generally cared for in an outpatient setting. In regional Northwest Tasmania, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, asthma and allergy outpatient clinic services were transferred to a virtual platform in the form of telehealth appointments for routine consultations. This study aims to explore the patient and family perspectives of a telehealth outpatient asthma review service in a regional area. Methods: We utilised a mixed-methods approach, interviewing parents and children who attended the clinic via telehealth and collating routine clinical audit data collected during the same period. Results: Sixty-three patient reviews were audited, with a mean age of 9.79 years. Since their last review, 13% visited their GP, 9% presented to the ED, 6% were hospitalised, and 19% had changes in their treatment plan. Interviews highlighted three main themes: (i) telehealth is a convenient strategy for routine asthma and allergy review appointments, (ii) barriers associated with using telehealth are a minor concern for parents of children with asthma and allergy routine appointments, and (iii) shared decision-making between clinicians and parents of children with asthma and allergy around the type of appointment required is valued. Conclusions: We demonstrated that the benefits of telehealth include implementing treatment changes and facilitating access to care for children living in rural and remote areas. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6feeb4de05164acb8cc82cbf2c0caafd |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj-art-6feeb4de05164acb8cc82cbf2c0caafd2025-08-20T02:00:19ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672024-12-011112150710.3390/children11121507Evaluation of a Telehealth Paediatric Asthma and Allergy Clinic Patient Follow-Up During the COVID-19 PandemicSarah J. Prior0Gaylene Bassett1Emmeline Van Beek2Claire Griffiths3Smriti Sinha4Shrima Shrestha5Sukhwinder Singh Sohal6Heinrich Christoph Weber7Tasmanian School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Burnie, TAS 7320, AustraliaTasmanian Health Service—Northwest, Burnie, TAS 7320, AustraliaRural Clinical School, University of Tasmania, Burnie, TAS 7320, AustraliaTasmanian Health Service—Northwest, Burnie, TAS 7320, AustraliaTasmanian Health Service—Northwest, Burnie, TAS 7320, AustraliaTasmanian Health Service—Northwest, Burnie, TAS 7320, AustraliaRespiratory Translational Research Group, Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Health Sciences, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS 7248, AustraliaTasmanian Health Service—Northwest, Burnie, TAS 7320, AustraliaBackground/Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic created many challenges for health services, particularly during lockdown periods. Asthma is one of the most common childhood conditions, and children with asthma are generally cared for in an outpatient setting. In regional Northwest Tasmania, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, asthma and allergy outpatient clinic services were transferred to a virtual platform in the form of telehealth appointments for routine consultations. This study aims to explore the patient and family perspectives of a telehealth outpatient asthma review service in a regional area. Methods: We utilised a mixed-methods approach, interviewing parents and children who attended the clinic via telehealth and collating routine clinical audit data collected during the same period. Results: Sixty-three patient reviews were audited, with a mean age of 9.79 years. Since their last review, 13% visited their GP, 9% presented to the ED, 6% were hospitalised, and 19% had changes in their treatment plan. Interviews highlighted three main themes: (i) telehealth is a convenient strategy for routine asthma and allergy review appointments, (ii) barriers associated with using telehealth are a minor concern for parents of children with asthma and allergy routine appointments, and (iii) shared decision-making between clinicians and parents of children with asthma and allergy around the type of appointment required is valued. Conclusions: We demonstrated that the benefits of telehealth include implementing treatment changes and facilitating access to care for children living in rural and remote areas.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/12/1507pandemicoutpatient clinicruralrespiratory diseasepatient experience |
| spellingShingle | Sarah J. Prior Gaylene Bassett Emmeline Van Beek Claire Griffiths Smriti Sinha Shrima Shrestha Sukhwinder Singh Sohal Heinrich Christoph Weber Evaluation of a Telehealth Paediatric Asthma and Allergy Clinic Patient Follow-Up During the COVID-19 Pandemic Children pandemic outpatient clinic rural respiratory disease patient experience |
| title | Evaluation of a Telehealth Paediatric Asthma and Allergy Clinic Patient Follow-Up During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | Evaluation of a Telehealth Paediatric Asthma and Allergy Clinic Patient Follow-Up During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of a Telehealth Paediatric Asthma and Allergy Clinic Patient Follow-Up During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of a Telehealth Paediatric Asthma and Allergy Clinic Patient Follow-Up During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | Evaluation of a Telehealth Paediatric Asthma and Allergy Clinic Patient Follow-Up During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | evaluation of a telehealth paediatric asthma and allergy clinic patient follow up during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | pandemic outpatient clinic rural respiratory disease patient experience |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/12/1507 |
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