Exploring cancer patients’, caregivers’, and clinicians’ utilisation and experiences of telehealth services during COVID-19: A qualitative study

• Published in: Patient education and counseling 2022-10, Vol.105 (10), p.3134-3142
• Main Authors: Smith, Sarah J., Smith, Allan Ben, Kennett, William, Vinod, Shalini K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Australia; Cancer; Caregivers; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Experiences; Humans; Neoplasms - therapy; Pandemics; Qualitative; Telehealth; Telemedicine
• ISSN: 0738-3991; 1873-5134
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2022.06.001

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted oncology. With pandemic restrictions limiting close contact between individuals, telehealth (the use of teleconferencing/videoconferencing to conduct real-time medical consultations) has been increasingly utilised. This qualitative study aimed to explore adult cancer patient, caregiver, and clinician (doctor, nurse, allied health) telehealth experiences during COVID-19 in urban and rural Australian settings and identify potential enablers and barriers to sustained telehealth implementation. English-speaking participants completed semi-structured interviews regarding their telehealth experiences since March 2020. Interviews ceased when data saturation occurred. Iterative thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo 12 Pro. Thirty-four interviews (clinician=14, patient=13, caregiver=7) were conducted from April to August 2021. Analysis generated seven themes relating to telehealth use: 1) Acceptability as a form of consultation, 2) Impacts on healthcare provision, 3) Communication & relationships, 4) Efficient form of consultation, 5) Comfort of conducting telehealth in different environments, 6) Technological barriers and 7) Future preferences. The rapid uptake of telehealth during the pandemic has mostly been well-received, and telehealth can be appropriately used in oncology. Barriers including providing appropriate facilities, technology, and telehealth training; and selecting appropriate patients must be addressed to enable sustained telehealth use in future cancer care. •The rapid uptake of telehealth during COVID-19 has generally been welcomed.•Telehealth has been appropriately used for the care of most patients with cancer.•Telehealth has many benefits, such as positive physical and mental health effects.•Barriers (e.g. technology) need to be addressed for optimal future telehealth use.•Telehealth research with culturally and linguistically diverse people is needed.