Occupational Therapy and Telehealth in Indiana: Doctoral Capstone Project Report

Abstract

The capstone project focuses on providing baseline knowledge to OTs in the state of Indiana on providing effective and beneficial telehealth services to bridge the gap caused by COVID-19 due to social-distancing policies. There is a large percentage of OTs in the state of Indiana, and the nation, that have limited knowledge regarding telehealth and how to provide effective and beneficial telehealth services due to lack of education and research. This mode of delivery allows a therapist to provide services in environments that the client lives, works, and regularly interacts with giving them the most client-centered and occupation-based therapeutic experience. This worldwide shift from the typical in-person delivery of healthcare services is following the path mapped by the Diffusion of Innovation Theory. The project design will consist of a Zoom educational seminar where individuals will attend a live presentation focusing on telehealth and will provide therapists with up-to-date baseline information needed to be knowledgeable and confident in the area of telehealth. A quantitative pre-and post-survey was administered to examine the effectiveness of the educational seminar, along with a test administered by IOTA for attendants to gain CEU’s, and a qualitative survey to reflect the presentation. When analyzing the pre-and post-survey results it can be concluded that the educational seminar had a positive impact on the attendant’s knowledge and confidence related to telehealth as it pertains to occupational therapy. This project has a lot of potentials to be modified and improved upon as legislative changes come to Indiana furthering occupational therapies involvement in telehealth. This educational seminar was successful in meeting listed objectives and increasing knowledge and confidence levels related to telehealth.