The impact of COVID-19 on provision of UK audiology services & on attitudes towards delivery of telehealth services.
Int J Audiol
; 61(3): 228-238, 2022 03.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1233810
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To (i) identify the impact of COVID-19 on provision of UK audiology services across sectors (ii) compare teleaudiology service provision between private and public sectors before and after the introduction of restrictions and (iii) identify barriers to teleaudiology delivery amongst UK hearing care professionals in both sectors.DESIGN:
A mixed-methods cross-sectional survey study design. Responses to the structured questionnaire were analysed using descriptive and non-parametric statistics. STUDY SAMPLE UK based hearing care professionals (HCP) (n = 323) completed the survey (218 public sector; 89 private sector).RESULTS:
Changes in working patterns varied greatly between different sectors, with 61% of national employed and 26% of independent HCPs being furloughed, compared with 1% in the public sector. Use of telehealth was under-utilised across all sectors and groups in UK hearing healthcare, despite 92% of public and 75% of private HCPs reporting feeling comfortable conducting remote consultations.CONCLUSION:
This study highlights a variation in teleaudiology adoption and key barriers across sector in the UK. A collaborative approach between hearing device manufacturers, research centres, HCPs and professional bodies is required for the creation of targeted guidance and training materials according to sector, to support clinicians in effective teleaudiology provision.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Audiology
/
Telemedicine
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Int J Audiol
Journal subject:
Audiology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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