Surveys on telehealth in primary care

SECTOR UPDATE – Karen Day, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland

The first lockdown to address the COVID19 pandemic started on 23 March 2020. We were all scrambling for ways to remain safe while continuing to work, most of us as essential workers supporting the health system and dealing with the uncertainty that came with the lockdown. Telehealth became one of the most practical ways of providing services via general practice. 

A team of researchers from the University of Auckland and Massey University has come together to find out on a national level, how telehealth has worked in primary care for general practitioners and nurses, and healthcare consumers. 

The primary aim of this research is to improve the way that telehealth is used in the future, so that it becomes a sustainable part of 'business as usual' in general practice. 
 
“It all started in a CiLN conversation during the April – May lockdown,” says Dr Karen Day, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland. 

“Everyone was talking about different ways in which technology was being used to provide care when face to face was not practical. People were sharing their tips and tricks and ways of improving the telehealth they were able to do.” 
 
The conversation shifted to the consumer’s experience and Karen Day and Inga Hunter from Massey University saw this as an opportunity to do a national survey with a view to researching how telehealth in primary care can be embedded as business as usual. They formed a team of seven academics with Day and Hunter as co-principle investigators. 

An advisory panel arose from CiLN members and others from their respective universities and networks and the research is endorsed by the New Zealand Telehealth Leaders Group (NZTLG). 
 
Day says that, “this is an exciting study because although there have been many COVID-19 related surveys in primary care this year, there hasn’t been a national study or one from the consumer’s perspective.” 

There two surveys – one for general practice doctors and nurses, and the other from consumers. They have been designed to measure people’s experiences with the technology (was it easy to use the phone/video for your appointment, do you think it’s useful, if others you know do their appointments by phone/video are you more likely to?) and their ability to provide or access the care they needed via phone/video when needed. 

This research looks to the future rather than the past, and to how can we sustain the use of telehealth in an effective and efficient way to address health inequity.
 
The results of the surveys will be analysed and published in scholarly journals, presented at conferences and presented upon request. You can stay up-to-date with progress on Facebook (look for “Exploring considerations for future telehealth” and click the ‘follow’ button to get updates).
 
The surveys are open from Thursday 26 November 2020 to 31 January 2021. 
Go to the Provider Survey https://massey.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8vNkSh1EGL38XHf
Go to the Consumer Survey https://auckland.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_09rIAiGXiTip9yd  
 
Research team members
Co-principal Investigators: Karen Day (University of Auckland), Inga Hunter (Massey University)
Co-investigators: Greig Russell (Massey University), Fiona Moir (University of Auckland), Emily Gill
(University of Auckland), Rachel Roskvist (University of Auckland) and Vasudha Rao (Massey
University), Bert van der Werf (Auckland University), Caroline Lockhart (Massey University).
 
Approved by the Auckland Health Research Ethics Committee on 13/11/2020, reference AH2539

Source: Karen Day, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, 25 November 2020

Sector updates are provided by organisations to eHealthNews.nz and have not necessarily been edited or checked for accuracy. Any queries should be directed to the organisation issuing the release.

Do you have an item to add to sector updates?

Email your information to us at updates@hinz.org.nz

Return to eHealthNews.nz home page