Preliminary clinical algorithm to optimise remote delivery of paediatric concussion care in Canada's North

Telehealth for Indigenous Children Worldwide: A Scoping Review

PURPOSE

Indigenous children worldwide face healthcare disparities due, in part, to resource scarcity in remote settings which may be mitigated with technology. This study aims to determine the use of telehealth for this population, with respect to feasibility, acceptability, and the degree of patient/family involvement in reported interventions. We focused on the use of telehealth to support perioperative care.

METHODS

To identify relevant studies, five databases were searched to find articles that focused on the role of telehealth in caring for Indigenous populations worldwide, with an emphasis on the pediatric population. Studies that lacked insight into those themes, as well as protocols and review articles, were excluded. Analysis was done according to the non-adoption, abandonment, scale-up, spread, and sustainability (NASSS) framework, the Montreal Model (patient involvement), and the theoretical framework of acceptability (TFA).

RESULTS

Of the 1690 articles screened, 34 met the eligibility criteria. The most frequent uses of telehealth for Indigenous children were in ENT and psychiatry. Most of those had a low degree of complexity across the NASSS framework domains, suggesting greater feasibility. In 13 articles, the patient involvement was limited to information (lowest level of involvement in the Montreal Model). Only 11 articles directly assessed patient/family-perceived acceptability. Finally, two articles addressed telehealth in the surgical context.

CONCLUSIONS

The relative simplicity of the proposed telehealth applications may support their sustained impact and use in other settings such as for perioperative care. Early and longitudinal involvement of communities is essential for responsible telehealth development that addresses local needs.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level V.

Telehealth in PM&R: Past, present, and future in clinical practice and opportunities for translational research

Telehealth refers to the use of telecommunication devices and other forms of technology to provide services outside of the traditional in-person health care delivery system. Growth in the use of telehealth creates new challenges and opportunities for implementation in clinical practice. The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) assembled an expert group to develop a white paper to examine telehealth innovation in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R). The resultant white paper summarizes how telehealth is best used in the field of PM&R while highlighting current knowledge deficits and technological limitations. The report identifies new and transformative opportunities for PM&R to advance translational research related to telehealth and enhance patient care.

Current Use and Future Considerations for Concussion Telemedicine Healthcare in Canada

OBJECTIVE

To examine the use of telemedicine among Canadian concussion providers and clinics before and after the COVID-19 pandemic onset and identify barriers and facilitators for future use.

METHODS

Ninety-nine concussion clinics and healthcare providers across Canada that offered one or more clinical concussion-related service were identified using standardized online searches and approached to complete a cross-sectional online survey.

RESULTS

Thirty clinics or providers completed the survey and two completed subsections of the survey (response rate of 32.3%). Only 28.1% of respondents indicated that they used telemedicine to provide care prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Providers most commonly using telemedicine prior to the pandemic were occupational therapists and physicians, while the most commonly used services were in-person videoconferencing and eConsultation. Most respondents (87%) indicated their clinic's use of telemedicine changed following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic including new use of in-person video-conferencing, telephone calls, and eConsultation. Ninety-three percent indicated that they would consider using telemedicine to provide care to their concussion patients once the pandemic was over. Barriers needed to be overcome to facilitate use or greater use of telemedicine-based services were the inability to conduct a complete physical examination, lack of appropriate reimbursement, lack of start-up, and maintenance funding and medico-legal risk.

CONCLUSION

Telemedicine was used by a minority of Canadian concussion clinics and providers prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but was rapidly adopted by many facilities. This study provides important insight into the factors that must be considered to optimize use of telemedicine in concussion care in the future.

Identification of Clinical Measures to Use in a Virtual Concussion Assessment: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

BACKGROUND

Workplace concussions can have a significant impact on workers. The impact of concussion symptoms, combined with challenges associated with clinical environments that are loud, bright, and busy, create barriers to conducting effective in-person assessments. Although the opportunity for remote care in rural communities has long been recognized, the COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed the transition to virtual assessments and care into the mainstream. With this rapid shift, many clinicians have been completing remote assessments. However, the approaches and measures used in these assessments have not yet been standardized. Furthermore, the psychometric properties of the assessments when completed remotely using videoconference have not yet been documented.

OBJECTIVE

Through this mixed methods study, we aim to (1) identify the concussion assessment measures clinicians are currently using in person and are most relevant to the following 5 physical domains: neurological examination (ie, cranial nerve, coordination, motor, and sensory skills), cervical spine, vestibular, oculomotor, and effort assessment; (2) document the psychometric properties of the measures identified; (3) identify measures that appear feasible in a virtual context; and (4) identify practical and technical barriers or challenges, facilitators, and benefits to conducting or engaging in virtual concussion assessments.

METHODS

This study will follow a sequential mixed methods design using a survey and Delphi approach, working groups with expert clinicians, and focus groups with experienced clinicians and people living with concussions. Our target sample sizes are 50 clinicians for the Delphi surveys, 4 clinician-participants for the working group, and 5-7 participants for each focus group (roughly 6-10 total groups being planned with at least two groups consisting of people living with concussions). The results from this study will inform the decision regarding the measures that should be included in a virtual assessment tool kit to be tested in a future planned prospective evaluation study.

RESULTS

The study is expected to be completed by January 2023.

CONCLUSIONS

This mixed methods study will document the clinical measures that are currently used in person and will identify those that are most relevant to assessing the physical domains impacted by concussions. Potential feasibility of using these measures in a virtual context will be explored.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/40446.

Implementation and Adoption of Telerehabilitation for Treating Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Multimodal physical therapy for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has been shown to improve recovery. Due to the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a clinical trial assessing the timing of multimodal intervention was adapted for telerehabilitation. This pilot study explored feasibility and adoption of an in-person rehabilitation program for subacute mTBI delivered through telerehabilitation.

METHODS

Fifty-six in-person participants-9 males; mean (SD) age 34.3 (12.2); 67 (31) days post-injury-and 17 telerehabilitation participants-8 males; age 38.3 (12.7); 61 (37) days post-injury-with subacute mTBI (between 2 and 12 weeks from injury) were enrolled. Intervention included 8, 60-minute visits over 6 weeks and included subcategories that targeted cervical spine, cardiovascular, static balance, and dynamic balance impairments. Telerehabilitation was modified to be safely performed at home with minimal equipment. Outcome measures included feasibility (the number that withdrew from the study, session attendance, home exercise program adherence, adverse events, telerehabilitation satisfaction, and progression of exercises performed), and changes in mTBI symptoms pre- and post-rehabilitation were estimated with Hedges' g effect sizes.

RESULTS

In-person and telerehabilitation had a similar study withdrawal rate (13% vs 12%), high session attendance (92% vs 97%), and no adverse events. The telerehabilitation group found the program easy to use (4.2/5), were satisfied with care (4.7/5), and thought it helped recovery (4.7/5). The telerehabilitation intervention was adapted by removing manual therapy and cardiovascular portions and decreasing dynamic balance exercises compared with the in-person group. The in-person group had a large effect size (-0.94) in decreases in symptoms following rehabilitation, while the telerehabilitation group had a moderate effect size (-0.73).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Telerehabilitation may be feasible for subacute mTBI. Limited ability to address cervical spine, cardiovascular, and dynamic balance domains along with underdosage of exercise progression may explain group differences in symptom resolution.Video Abstract available for more insights from the authors (see the Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, available at: http://links.lww.com/JNPT/A392 ).

Triage through telemedicine in paediatric emergency care—Results of a concordance study

Background

In the German health care system, parents with an acutely ill child can visit an emergency room (ER) 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At the ER, the patient receives a medical consultation. Many parents use these facilities as they do not know how urgently their child requires medical attention. In recent years, paediatric departments in smaller hospitals have been closed, particularly in rural regions. As a result of this, the distances that patients must travel to paediatric care facilities in these regions are increasing, causing more children to visit an ER for adults. However, paediatric expertise is often required in order to assess how quickly the patient requires treatment and select an adequate treatment. This decision is made by a doctor in German ERs. We have examined whether remote paediatricians can perform a standardised urgency assessment (triage) using a video conferencing system.

Methods

Only acutely ill patients who were brought to a paediatric emergency room (paedER) by their parents or carers, without prior medical consultation, have been included in this study. First, an on-site paediatrician assessed the urgency of each case using a standardised triage. In order to do this, the Paediatric Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (PaedCTAS) was translated into German and adapted for use in a standardised IT-based data collection tool. After the initial on-site triage, a telemedicine paediatrician, based in a different hospital, repeated the triage using a video conferencing system. Both paediatricians used the same triage procedure. The primary outcome was the degree of concordance and interobserver agreement, measured using Cohen’s kappa, between the two paediatricians. We have also included patient and assessor demographics.

Results

A total of 266 patients were included in the study. Of these, 227 cases were eligible for the concordance analysis. In n = 154 cases (68%), there was concordance between the on-site paediatrician’s and telemedicine paediatrician’s urgency assessments. In n = 50 cases (22%), the telemedicine paediatrician rated the urgency of the patient’s condition higher (overtriage); in 23 cases (10%), the assessment indicated a lower urgency (undertriage). Nineteen medical doctors were included in the study, mostly trained paediatric specialists. Some of them acted as an on-site doctor and telemedicine doctor. Cohen’s weighted kappa was 0.64 (95% CI: 0.49–0.79), indicating a substantial agreement between the specialists.

Conclusions

Telemedical triage can assist in providing acute paediatric care in regions with a low density of paediatric care facilities. The next steps are further developing the triage tool and implementing telemedicine urgency assessment in a larger network of hospitals in order to improve the integration of telemedicine into hospitals’ organisational processes. The processes should include intensive training for the doctors involved in telemedical triage.

Trial registration

DRKS00013207.