Bridging the Access Gap: The Telepractice Experience of Speech Therapists and Audiologists at a Public Health Care Facility in South Africa

South Africa is a low to middle income country (LMIC) with a population of 60 million people. The public health sector serves more than 80% of the population. Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital is a central level public health care facility situated in Gauteng. The Speech Therapy and Audiolog...

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Main Authors: Shelissa Govender, Annika L. Vallabhjee, Chenay R. Charles, Darike Roesch, Sadna Balton
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hawaii Pacific University Library 2022-12-01
Series:International Journal of Telerehabilitation
Subjects:
Online Access:http://telerehab.pitt.edu/ojs/Telerehab/article/view/6517
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author Shelissa Govender
Annika L. Vallabhjee
Chenay R. Charles
Darike Roesch
Sadna Balton
author_facet Shelissa Govender
Annika L. Vallabhjee
Chenay R. Charles
Darike Roesch
Sadna Balton
author_sort Shelissa Govender
collection DOAJ
description South Africa is a low to middle income country (LMIC) with a population of 60 million people. The public health sector serves more than 80% of the population. Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital is a central level public health care facility situated in Gauteng. The Speech Therapy and Audiology Department provides insight into their telepractice services through a qualitative approach. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in therapists exploring telepractice as a sustainable model of service delivery. Therapists and patients encountered many challenges to the implementation of telepractice, however, the commitment of therapists ensured that creative solutions were developed. A comprehensive needs analysis at public health institutions is required to ensure the sustainability of telepractice. A hybrid model (telepractice and in-person consults) holds the potential to reduce the financial burden on patients and increase access to quality patient- centered care.
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publisher Hawaii Pacific University Library
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series International Journal of Telerehabilitation
spelling doaj-art-e3587252cdb94e8ebaa8f11bed5b0aa32025-08-20T02:21:24ZengHawaii Pacific University LibraryInternational Journal of Telerehabilitation1945-20202022-12-0114210.5195/ijt.2022.6517Bridging the Access Gap: The Telepractice Experience of Speech Therapists and Audiologists at a Public Health Care Facility in South AfricaShelissa Govender0Annika L. Vallabhjee1Chenay R. Charles2Darike Roesch3Sadna Balton4Department of Speech Therapy and Audiology, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa Department of Speech Therapy and Audiology, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa Department of Speech Therapy and Audiology, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa Department of Speech Therapy and Audiology, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa Department of Speech Therapy and Audiology, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa ;Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa South Africa is a low to middle income country (LMIC) with a population of 60 million people. The public health sector serves more than 80% of the population. Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital is a central level public health care facility situated in Gauteng. The Speech Therapy and Audiology Department provides insight into their telepractice services through a qualitative approach. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in therapists exploring telepractice as a sustainable model of service delivery. Therapists and patients encountered many challenges to the implementation of telepractice, however, the commitment of therapists ensured that creative solutions were developed. A comprehensive needs analysis at public health institutions is required to ensure the sustainability of telepractice. A hybrid model (telepractice and in-person consults) holds the potential to reduce the financial burden on patients and increase access to quality patient- centered care. http://telerehab.pitt.edu/ojs/Telerehab/article/view/6517AudiologyPublic healthcareSpeech therapySouth AfricaTelepractice
spellingShingle Shelissa Govender
Annika L. Vallabhjee
Chenay R. Charles
Darike Roesch
Sadna Balton
Bridging the Access Gap: The Telepractice Experience of Speech Therapists and Audiologists at a Public Health Care Facility in South Africa
International Journal of Telerehabilitation
Audiology
Public healthcare
Speech therapy
South Africa
Telepractice
title Bridging the Access Gap: The Telepractice Experience of Speech Therapists and Audiologists at a Public Health Care Facility in South Africa
title_full Bridging the Access Gap: The Telepractice Experience of Speech Therapists and Audiologists at a Public Health Care Facility in South Africa
title_fullStr Bridging the Access Gap: The Telepractice Experience of Speech Therapists and Audiologists at a Public Health Care Facility in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Bridging the Access Gap: The Telepractice Experience of Speech Therapists and Audiologists at a Public Health Care Facility in South Africa
title_short Bridging the Access Gap: The Telepractice Experience of Speech Therapists and Audiologists at a Public Health Care Facility in South Africa
title_sort bridging the access gap the telepractice experience of speech therapists and audiologists at a public health care facility in south africa
topic Audiology
Public healthcare
Speech therapy
South Africa
Telepractice
url http://telerehab.pitt.edu/ojs/Telerehab/article/view/6517
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