Attitudes Toward Telehealth Services Among People Living With Parkinson's Disease: A Survey Study

Mov Disord. 2022 Jun;37(6):1289-1294. doi: 10.1002/mds.28990. Epub 2022 Mar 26.

Abstract

Background: Telehealth has been widely adopted in providing Parkinson's disease care during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Objective: The aim of this study was to survey people living with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) about their attitudes toward and utilization of telehealth services.

Methods: A survey was administered to PwPD via Parkinson's Foundation and Columbia University mailing lists.

Results: Of 1,163 responses, 944 complete responses were analyzed. Telehealth awareness was 90.2% (850/942), and utilization was 82.8% (780/942). More than 40% of PwPD were equally or more satisfied with telehealth compared with in-person visits in all types of services used. The highest satisfaction was observed in speech-language pathology appointments (78.8%, 52/66) followed by mental health services (69.2%, 95/137).

Conclusions: In selected circumstances and indications, such as speech-language pathology and mental health services, telehealth may be a useful tool in the care of PwPD beyond the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson Movement Disorder Society.

Keywords: Parkinson's disease; Telehealth.

MeSH terms

  • Attitude
  • COVID-19*
  • Humans
  • Parkinson Disease* / psychology
  • Parkinson Disease* / therapy
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Telemedicine*