Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Julie Grabanski

Keywords

telehealth, teletherapy, pediatric, occupational therapy

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this scholarly project was to improve the telehealth competency and confidence of occupational therapy practitioners working in pediatrics through the use of a quick reference resource guide.

Methodology: The development of The Virtual Therapist: An Occupational Therapy Practitioner’s Guide to Telehealth Service Delivery in Pediatrics was guided by the concepts found in the Ecology of Human Performance model (Dunn, 2017). The concepts of person, context, and task were used in the overall creation of the guide, while the five intervention strategies outlined in the model were used in the creation of the intervention plan section. A literature review using the keywords of “telehealth”, “occupational therapy”, and “pediatrics” was used to identify the need for the resource guide.

Results: The Virtual Therapist: An Occupational Therapy Practitioner’s Guide to Telehealth Service Delivery in Pediatrics, was created to improve practitioner confidence in delivering skilled occupational therapy services via telehealth. The resource guide’s five sections provide therapists with educational materials, graphics, and intervention activities for effective telehealth implementation. It was the ultimate goal that occupational therapy practitioners use the guide to improve their telehealth competency and in turn offer telehealth services as an integrated part of their occupational therapy practice.

Conclusion and Significance: The Virtual Therapist: An Occupational Therapy Practitioner’s Guide to Telehealth Service Delivery in Pediatrics was designed to aid occupational therapy practitioners when preparing for and implementing telehealth sessions by providing orientation to telehealth concepts, intervention ideas, and parent education material. In turn, it was intended to improve occupational therapy practitioner competence and confidence when providing telehealth services to pediatric clients and improve access to occupational therapy services via telehealth.

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