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Literature on telehealth care delivery often addresses clinical, cost, technological, system, and organizational impacts. Less is known about interpersonal behaviors such as communication patterns and therapeutic relationship-building, which may have workforce development considerations. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review to identify interpersonal health care provider (HCP) behaviors and attributes related to provider-patient interaction during care in telehealth delivery. Electronic searches were conducted using five indexes/databases: CINAHL, ERIC, PsychInfo, ProQuest Dissertations, PubMed; with hand-searching of the immediate past 10 years of five journals. Search concepts included: communication, telehealth, education, and health care delivery. Of 5261 unique article abstracts initially identified, 338 full-text articles remained after exclusion criteria were applied and these were reviewed for eligibility. Finally, data were extracted from 45 articles. Through qualitative synthesis of the 45 articles, we noted that papers encompassed many disciplines and targeted care to people in many settings including: home care, primary and specialist care, mental health/counseling, and multi-site teams. Interpersonal behaviors were observed though not manipulated through study designs. Six themes were identified: HCP-based support for telehealth delivery; provider-patient interactions during the telehealth event; environmental attributes; and guidelines for education interventions or evaluation of HCP behaviors. Although unable to identify current best practices, important considerations for practice and education did emerge. These include: perceptions of the utility of telehealth; differences in communication patterns such as pace and type of discourse, reliance on visual cues by both provider and patient especially in communicating empathy and building rapport; and confidentiality and privacy in telehealth care delivery.

A nursing school implemented a strategic schoolwide plan for technology-enhanced learning at a distance. Key features included a core group of faculty, adequate computer infrastructure and technical support, staff development, user-friendly student support, establishment of policies, and ongoing course and program evaluation. (Contains 18 references.) (SK)

The University of Minnesota has developed a limited-cohort distance education graduate program to overcome geographic barriers and address the shortage of masters'-prepared speciality nurses in rural areas of the upper Midwest. The program offers graduate nursing education in various specialty areas to distance sites for a predetermined, relatively short period. (Author)

While interpersonal skills in telehealth may positively impact clinical practice, patient engagement and outcomes, assessment strategies are lacking. We conducted a multi-stage iterative approach to develop and test validity and reliability of the Teaching Interpersonal Skills in Telehealth checklist (TIPS-TC). First, we identified observable communication behaviors from the literature. Second, we surveyed telehealth managers and researchers (N = 11) to rate appropriateness of potential checklist items. Level of agreement (35%–91%) and Kappa statistic (0.18–0.89) confirmed items to be retained and identified items to modify. Based on response patterns and comments, we reduced 44 items to 12 critical checklist behaviors. Third, student clinicians used the checklist with video telehealth consultations and provided feedback. Fourth, we conducted reliability testing with practitioners and administrators (N = 68) who completed the TIPS-TC for two versions of a telehealth scenario. Strong interrater reliability intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and test-retest reliability ICC (both p <.001), along with non-significant findings of order effects supported the checklist as an acceptable instrument to differentiate high skill from low skill telehealth sessions. The TIPS-TC offers an evidence-based approach to assessing interpersonal skills in telehealth to help evaluate clinician competence and tailor learning activities across disciplinary roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Public Health CARES Tool was developed to assess the knowledge/awareness and attitudes/engagement of participants in a newly developed culturally appropriate training program for the Public Health workforce. The tool consists of a 21-item pre intervention assessment version and a 22-item post intervention version that includes one additional open-ended question. Five content experts reviewed the pre and post tools for content validity. Experts provided qualitative feedback that was coded into relevant themes. Ten participants were recruited to participate in test-retest reliability testing. Results of reliability testing were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. The Pearson's Correlation Coefficient used for test-retest reliability, coefficients ranged from .703 (acceptable reliably) to 1 (perfect reliability), with 21 questions. The majority of the questions (N=21) indicated a perfect reliability coefficient. All reliability measures were significant at least at the .05 level. Therefore, the tool was found to be valid and reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tobacco counseling practices of dentists and other health care professionals in a predominantly rural region in the Upper Midwest were assessed to determine the need for professional education. A survey was mailed to all dentists, physicians, chiropractors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and public health nurses in a 16-county region. Half (51.9 percent) of providers returned surveys (n=614). While dentists were more likely than physicians and other health professionals to accurately estimate their patient's tobacco use, they were less consistent than other professions in tobacco assessment and intervention, less supportive of tobacco intervention, less likely to report having strong tobacco cessation skill/knowledge levels, and more likely to perceive barriers to tobacco intervention. Three out of five dentists (61.1 percent) reported desire for further tobacco education. For dentists to effectively counsel patients regarding tobacco use, it is essential to integrate tobacco intervention education into dental school curricula and to offer continuing education regarding tobacco use intervention to practicing dentists. Recent state settlements with tobacco companies could provide funding for such education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A community health center in Israel, delivering services to a geographically defined population, attempted to formulate goals for its postpartum family planning service. Taking into account the pronatalist climate in Israel along with the good health status of the population served by this center, it was decided that the community wide goal of the family planning program was to ensure the rights of couples to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children. Specific process and outcome objectives were developed based on helping couples define and clarify their family planning goals, and assisting them to achieve these goals. Preliminary evaluation of the intervention based on the objectives showed that 84.0 per cent of the cohort of women who gave birth in 1980 (n = 212) had specific postpartum planning goals as opposed to 69.0 per cent of women who gave birth in 1977 (n = 242). The percentage of women experiencing unplanned pregnancies during the two years after birth was reduced by 46 per cent in the 1980 cohort (6.1 per cent of the women) as compared with the 1977 cohort (11.2 per cent). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the image of a southeastern state nurses' association (SNA) as perceived by its members and non-members to assist in the development of a marketing plan to broaden its membership base. The process of developing such a plan is applicable to other professional nursing organizations, including other SNAs. Marketing, a voluntary exchange between a buyer and seller uses terms often unfamiliar to nurses. However, a review of the marketing literature and consultation with marketing experts indicates that phases in the development of a marketing plan are the same as the nursing process, which are assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation.