Speak Out June 2021

University of Melbourne Telehealth Survey

The University of Melbourne recently published the results of a survey on Telehealth by Allied Health Practitioners during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This research was supported by various peak organisations, including Speech Pathology Australia and Allied Health Professions Australia. The survey offers valuable insight into how telehealth is implemented and perceived, largely by people engaging in it for the first time. Some of the key findings of this survey were: Experience and expectations Clients, including those with little prior experience, largely found telehealth simple to use and the experience better than expected. Only 2% of clients, (and 23% of clinicians), had previously engaged in video-based speech pathology telepractice. However, 75% of these clients found video telehealth technology "somewhat" or "very" easy to use. The overall experience exceeded the expectations of 66% of speech pathology clients. Satisfaction and effectiveness Clients and clinicians largely found telehealth to be effective and satisfactory. 91% of speech pathology clients were "somewhat" to "very" satisfied with the video telepractice experience. Similarly, 89% of these clients found telehealth speech pathology services to be effective. Speech pathologists rated both the effectiveness of and their satisfaction with video-based telehealth an average of 8 on a 10-point scale. Speech pathologists also indicated that clinical outcomes were achievable with a similar number of telehealth sessions as onsite sessions for many of their clients. Client characteristics and candidacy Clients with a variety of characteristics received speech pathology services through telehealth . The majority received services for speech sound issues, autism, and language and learning. However, clients also received services for disability, literacy, stroke, voice, fluency, deaf and hard of hearing support, swallowing, AAC, and acquired brian injury. In addition, telehealth was used to serve clients across the lifespan, with most speech pathologists serving clients between the ages of 1 and 19. The majority of clinicians, (67%), indicated that most or all of their caseload could be appropriately served through telehealth. Where clients were not deemed strong candidates for video-based telehealth, this was mostly due to "client complexity" and "access to technology or technological issues". Other reasons included "complexity of client condition, inability to appropriate assess", and "the need for hand-on treatment".

Safety and security Most clients and speech pathologists felt that telehealth was a safe and secure method of service- delivery. 95% of clients indicated that video-based services were safe and 91% were satisfied with the level of privacy and security. Only 9% of speech pathologists described an issue with privacy or safety. Most of these concerns were related to dysphagia assessment and management, and parents wanting to leave a child alone during the session. Training Many speech pathologists engaged in training to increase their telepractice skills. 50% of speech pathologists undertook various telehealth training methods, including self-directed learning, educational webinars, and online resources. Speech pathologists can access a variety of Telepractice Professional Development on the Learning Hub, many of which are free to SPA members. Future use Many clients, and most speech pathologists, will continue to use some telehealth after the pandemic. Although clients generally expressed a preference for onsite services, 39% indicated that they would be open to seeing a speech pathologist via telehealth post-pandemic. 84% of speech pathologists indicated that they would continue to offer some video-based telehealth services after the pandemic. Nathan Cornish-Raley Professional Support Advisor

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June 2021 | Speak Out