ABSTRACT
Purpose: The engagement of allied health students in telehealth consultations whilst on clinical placement has rapidly increased due to the disruption caused by COVID-19. While this is understandable given the circumstances, it has occurred on the largely unfounded assumption that utilising telehealth is pedagogically appropriate to supplement or replace assessed placements. Method: This rapid review used the Cochrane rapid review methodology to synthesise the literature relating to the perspectives of allied health students whilst on clinical placements utilising telehealth. Results: A systematic search and selection process found three studies. In summary, the combined findings of the research suggest that student perspectives were generally positive, and several important beneiiits were reported, including being able to improve knowledge and skills, and reduce anxiety for some consultations. However, students acknowledged that some consultations were considerably more difffiicult to undertake without being in the same physical space as clients. Conclusions: The methodological quality of these three papers was inconsistent, and collectively the area clearly needs more evidence to support the transition of face-to-face to telehealth environments. Recommendations: Based on broader telehealth literature, the authors propose several recommendations to meet the immediate challenge of insufffiicient guiding research evidence. These include deconstructing telehealth placements into discrete clinical placement elements, using education theory to support student clinicians to implement a proactive, integrated approach to adopting telehealth as a standard service modality, and investing in and developing infrastructure, policy, systems, education, and training in an explicit, systematic manner. The use of telehealth within allied health clinical placements is here to stay, but considerable work is needed to prepare students for this environment as well as triaging and progressively scaffolding their experiences.
ABSTRACT
Objective: to understand the disposition among healthcare staff to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 and their reasons for it. Method: a cross-sectional study through online survey conducted between December 2020 and February 2021. The study included professionals from the Spanish Health System belonging to any category who had managed COVID-19 patients from March 2020, both in the hospital and the community settings, including Primary Care. Non-probabilistic sampling, and ad hoc questionnaire: sample characteristics, concern about contagion, and willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Descriptive analysis. Results: the study included 834 healthcare professionals. There was a high disposition to be vaccinated against SARSCoV- 2 (92% of the participants would receive the vaccine). The main reasons were concern about getting infected and infecting their relatives, followed by the need to end up the current pandemics as soon as possible. The decision of receiving the vaccine or not was only statistically influenced by professional category and gender, with nurses and doctors as well as men presenting the highest rates claiming that they would receive the vaccine. Conclusions: this study showed the positive disposition of the healthcare staff towards current vaccines against SARSCoV- 2. Moreover, almost all healthcare professionals involved showed high concern for the possibility to infect a relative with the disease, or the possibility of becoming infected. The fact that said professionals were working with patients positive for COVID-19 at that time had no impact on their decision to receive the vaccine. © 2022 DAE Editorial, Grupo Paradigma. All rights reserved.