Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Access Control

Open Access

Degree Program

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Degree Track

Family Nurse Practioner

Year Degree Awarded

2022

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/28852358

Month Degree Awarded

May

Keywords

Telehealth, older adult, telemedicine, elderly, usage, education

Advisor

Joohyun Chung

DNP Project Chair

Joohyun Chung

Abstract

Background: Telehealth usage is increasing a means of providing healthcare in a more efficient and cost-effective way. Older adults have been left behind from the telehealth movement and this can negatively impact their access to the healthcare system.

Purpose: An educational workshop was offered in a local older adult community with the goal of increasing their knowledge, literacy, motivation, and usage of telehealth.

Methods: The participants completed a pre-assessment survey to determine their baseline knowledge, experience, and perceptions about telehealth. They then participated in an educational workshop, which consisted of a 45-minute presentation given via Zoom with a 15-minute open discussion at the end. A post-presentation survey to determine if the workshop was successful in improving their telehealth knowledge, the likeliness of future usage, and feelings of support. The surveys were distributed using SurveyMonkey and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data results.

Results: Six participants completed the surveys, but two did not complete the surveys. All improved in general telehealth knowledge and 50% agreed that they were more likely to use telehealth and 75% agreed that they felt telehealth could be beneficial for improving their health. Only 33.33% of participants reported interest in learning more about telehealth.

Conclusions: Older adults can benefit from telehealth education, as evidenced by this project which showed improvement in telehealth knowledge and an increase in the likeliness of telehealth use. Circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic have made telehealth a big part of the healthcare system, so it is important for the older adult population to be knowledgeable and able to participate.

Keywords: telehealth, older adult, telemedicine, elderly, usage, willingness, education

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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