Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects
Access Control
Open Access
Embargo Period
4-26-2022
Degree Program
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Degree Track
Family Nurse Practioner
Year Degree Awarded
2022
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
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.