The Evolution of Telepractice Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists

The study investigated how pediatric speech-language pathologists (SLPs) applied telepractice to compensate for the loss of in-person services and the dynamics of telepractice use during the COVID-19 pandemic in a rural state. We conducted interviews with 10 SLPs and then a statewide survey in which...

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Autores principales:	Ying Hao, Saijun Zhang, Austin Conner, Na Youn Lee
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	children telepractice service disruption and transition COVID-19 Speech-Language services Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/54a81b9024174f56b1dc4f9115a7dc8c
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:54a81b9024174f56b1dc4f9115a7dc8c2021-11-25T17:51:54ZThe Evolution of Telepractice Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists10.3390/ijerph1822121971660-46011661-7827https://doaj.org/article/54a81b9024174f56b1dc4f9115a7dc8c2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12197https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601The study investigated how pediatric speech-language pathologists (SLPs) applied telepractice to compensate for the loss of in-person services and the dynamics of telepractice use during the COVID-19 pandemic in a rural state. We conducted interviews with 10 SLPs and then a statewide survey in which 51 SLPs participated. The qualitative interviews revealed themes including changes in service environment due to the pandemic (e.g., transition to telepractice, losing clients), challenges in the transition to telepractice (e.g., limited training, difficulty engaging clients), worsening wellbeing of clinicians and clients, and SLPs’ perspectives and suggestions towards telepractice in the future. Survey results showed service disruptions and transition dynamics during the pandemic. SLPs’ weekly caseloads reduced from an average of 42.3 clients prior to the pandemic to 25.9 and 23.4 from March to May and from June to September 2020, respectively, and then recovered to 37.2 clients from October to December 2020. In contrast, the number of telepractice caseloads sharply increased from 0.2 clients per week prior to the pandemic to 14.8 from March to May 2020. The weekly telepractice caseloads then declined to 5.5 clients from June to September and 7.9 clients from October to December 2020. In the months right after the pandemic outbreak (i.e., March to May), client children struggled with treatment gains and behavioral wellbeing. However, their outcomes gradually improved by October to December and approached pre-pandemic levels. About one-third of the SLPs reported that they would be more likely or much more likely to use telepractice in the future regardless of the pandemic. However, only about a quarter perceived telepractice as comparable to in-person services. We concluded that the transition from in-person services to telepractice substantially mitigated service disruptions right after the pandemic outbreak and that telepractice’s substitute role evolved over time.Ying HaoSaijun ZhangAustin ConnerNa Youn LeeMDPI AGarticlechildrentelepracticeservice disruption and transitionCOVID-19Speech-Language servicesMedicineRENInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 12197, p 12197 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	children telepractice service disruption and transition COVID-19 Speech-Language services Medicine R
spellingShingle	children telepractice service disruption and transition COVID-19 Speech-Language services Medicine R Ying Hao Saijun Zhang Austin Conner Na Youn Lee The Evolution of Telepractice Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists
description	The study investigated how pediatric speech-language pathologists (SLPs) applied telepractice to compensate for the loss of in-person services and the dynamics of telepractice use during the COVID-19 pandemic in a rural state. We conducted interviews with 10 SLPs and then a statewide survey in which 51 SLPs participated. The qualitative interviews revealed themes including changes in service environment due to the pandemic (e.g., transition to telepractice, losing clients), challenges in the transition to telepractice (e.g., limited training, difficulty engaging clients), worsening wellbeing of clinicians and clients, and SLPs’ perspectives and suggestions towards telepractice in the future. Survey results showed service disruptions and transition dynamics during the pandemic. SLPs’ weekly caseloads reduced from an average of 42.3 clients prior to the pandemic to 25.9 and 23.4 from March to May and from June to September 2020, respectively, and then recovered to 37.2 clients from October to December 2020. In contrast, the number of telepractice caseloads sharply increased from 0.2 clients per week prior to the pandemic to 14.8 from March to May 2020. The weekly telepractice caseloads then declined to 5.5 clients from June to September and 7.9 clients from October to December 2020. In the months right after the pandemic outbreak (i.e., March to May), client children struggled with treatment gains and behavioral wellbeing. However, their outcomes gradually improved by October to December and approached pre-pandemic levels. About one-third of the SLPs reported that they would be more likely or much more likely to use telepractice in the future regardless of the pandemic. However, only about a quarter perceived telepractice as comparable to in-person services. We concluded that the transition from in-person services to telepractice substantially mitigated service disruptions right after the pandemic outbreak and that telepractice’s substitute role evolved over time.
format	article
author	Ying Hao Saijun Zhang Austin Conner Na Youn Lee
author_facet	Ying Hao Saijun Zhang Austin Conner Na Youn Lee
author_sort	Ying Hao
title	The Evolution of Telepractice Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists
title_short	The Evolution of Telepractice Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists
title_full	The Evolution of Telepractice Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists
title_fullStr	The Evolution of Telepractice Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists
title_full_unstemmed	The Evolution of Telepractice Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists
title_sort	evolution of telepractice use during the covid-19 pandemic: perspectives of pediatric speech-language pathologists
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/54a81b9024174f56b1dc4f9115a7dc8c
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The Evolution of Telepractice Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists

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