The Use and Knowledge of Telehealth Amongst Occupational Therapists in South Africa

Abstract

Introduction: Telehealth is a platform of healthcare service delivery that has gained popularity in the lower middle-income countries (LMICS), including South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. The declaration of national lockdowns meant that healthcare services needed to continue, despite patients not being able to access healthcare facilities. Telehealth is a platform of healthcare service delivery that has proven to be successful in upper middle-income countries (UMICs) and high-income countries, like the United States of America (USA) in reaching out to rural and vulnerable groups, however the rural status of the USA is not the same as South Africa (SA). This leaves a niche research to be conducted to determine the understanding of occupational therapists about telehealth and their perceptions of its use in the future. Aims: Through the research, the researcher aimed to gain information on occupational therapists’ knowledge and willingness to use telehealth as a tool for rehabilitative service delivery in SA and compare these results between private and public occupational therapists working in SA. Methodology: The researcher used a quantitative cross-sectional survey design. Surveys were distributed to OTs practicing in the private and public sector in South Africa through and electronic link on a secure RedCap database. The IBM SPSS Statistical software was used to analyse data to obtain percentages and calculate correlations between the groups. Results and Discussion: Both, private and public OTs displayed knowledge about and willingness to use telehealth. There was no significant difference (p = 0.001) between the knowledge about telehealth amongst OTs who work in the private sector and the OTs who work in the public sectors of SA. Conclusion: The main barrier to the implementation of telehealth services in LMICs, like SA, was considered to be the poor knowledge about telehealth amongst healthcare professionals, however, this research report states that there is no significant difference between the knowledge about telehealth amongst OTs who work in the private sector and the OTs who work in the public sectors of SA