The use of telehealth as a strategy to provide occupational therapy services in South Africa

BackgroundDuring COVID-19, healthcare professionals had to adapt their service delivery models to prevent virus transmissions using telehealth as a new service delivery model. Although many health professionals support telehealth, there is a void in the literature that focus on the use of telehealth in occupational therapy.ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the experiences of occupational therapists in the public and private sectors regarding the use of telehealth in OT practice in South Africa.MethodTen participants (occupational therapists who use telehealth as part of their interventions) participated in the study. The majority of the participants were 35 years of age, they were females and had 3.5 months of telehealth experience. The researchers made use of semi-structured interviews and used the process of thematic analysis to give rise to four themes.ResultsFour themes surfaced which represent the experiences and perspectives of the occupational therapists utilising telehealth including the barriers and facilitators: The themes that became evident throughout the thematic analysis comprised (1) Enablers to the use of telehealth; (2) Barriers to telehealth in occupational therapy practice; (3) The use of education and research in strengthening telehealth as a strategy; (4) Strategies to enhance the use of telehealth in occupational therapy practice.ConclusionThe participants addressed the misconception that occupational therapists should not utilise telehealth due to the type of therapy provided, by elaborating on the influence of therapist adaptability and creativity on the integration of telehealth into their practice. Although telehealth minimises geographical barriers and costs associated with travelling, most participants had difficulty conducting assessments and navigating online platforms effectively from a therapist and client perspective.