Preparing future rehabilitation professionals for virtual care: a community case study of Renace digital for telehealth education in Chile

Digital health literacy is increasingly relevant to preparing health professionals for telehealth and virtual care, particularly when digital technologies mediate interactions with people who may experience barriers to accessing and using digital health resources. This community case study describes Renace Digital for Telehealth Education (RD-TE), an educational experience designed to integrate digital health literacy into the preparation of Speech-Language Pathology students for telehealth within a community-based program for older adults. RD-TE used a progressive educational pathway that connected conceptual learning, guided exploration of digital needs, clinical simulation, and application with service users during telerehabilitation practice. Students developed strategies to identify digital barriers, adapt communication and educational approaches, and support users' autonomy in the use of digital technologies. The experience was supported by structured implementation materials for tutors, students, and simulation actors, designed to facilitate replication and adaptation. Complementary quantitative assessments using the eHEALS and the Digital Health Literacy Questionnaire showed higher post-training scores in both measures. However, the difference observed for the adapted 46-item questionnaire did not remain statistically significant after Holm correction (adjusted p = 0.054). These exploratory findings should not be interpreted as evidence of intervention effectiveness. The contribution of RD-TE lies in its structured educational pathway and the availability of detailed implementation materials for tutors, students, and simulation actors, provided as supplementary materials to facilitate replication and adaptation to other rehabilitation education programs and populations. RD-TE offers a practical model for integrating digital health literacy into telehealth education through conceptual learning, clinical simulation, and situated application, with potential for adaptation to continuing professional education for clinicians working in telehealth.