Caregiver perceptions on telehealth-based audiological services offered within a mobile-health clinic for infants

Purpose: Telehealth audiological services offered within a mobile clinic can expand the range of hearing healthcare services to rural and remote areas where many patients, in particular infants with hearing loss, go undetected due to limited access to specialist care. This study describes caregiver perceptions on the use of synchronous telehealth-based Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) services offered for their infants. Method: A self-administered questionnaire comprising a total of 15 questions was issued to forty (n = 40) caregivers to rate their perceptions of the service. Results: Caregivers were satisfied (76.8%) with mobile telehealth-based services on aspects of access, satisfaction with the mobile health clinic, privacy, comfort, technical and non-technical experiences, distance, quality of care, travel costs and time; and they would use telehealth in future. Interestingly, 17.5% of the participants agreed that using computer technology to receive health services is not culturally appropriate and 15% agreed that it felt “unnatural” to them. There was a strong association (p = 0.04) between the participants that earned below the minimum wage and the choice to use telehealth in future. Conclusion: The findings of the study are a positive indicator for the use of synchronous telehealth-based ABR services through a mobile clinic as a service delivery model for infants. This service is particularly beneficial to those residing within rural and remote areas with limited access to specialised services. Consideration of how telehealth services may influence cultural practices and beliefs is important.