Department of Radiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville 22908, USA.
Telemed J E Health. 2011 Dec;17(10):784-8. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2011.0080. Epub 2011 Oct 19.
Stroke is a prevalent condition found in elderly, rural populations. However, stroke education, which can be effective in addressing the risks, is often difficult to provide in these remote regions. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of delivering stroke education to elderly individuals through telehealth versus in-person stroke prevention education methods.
A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design was used in this study. A convenience sample of 11 elderly adults (36% men, 64% women) with a mean age of 70 was selected from an Appalachian Program for All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (day care) facility. Subjects completed preintervention surveys, received a 20-min group in-person or telehealth delivered education session, and then completed the postintervention surveys.
Satisfaction with delivery method and post-education knowledge was equivalent between the two groups. Knowledge increased in both groups after the educational programs. Likelihood of reducing risk factors showed no differences pre-posttest. However, there were significant improvements in the pre-post likelihood scores of the telehealth group in contrast to the in-person group.
This project provided a rural, high-risk population access to telehealth stroke education, thus enabling these individuals to receive education at a distance from experts in the field. The telehealth program was found to be equivalent to in-person stroke education in regards to satisfaction, knowledge, and likelihood of making changes to decrease vascular risk factors. The study demonstrated feasibility in providing effective stroke education through telehealth, thus suggesting an often overlooked route for providing patient education at a distance.
中风是一种常见于老年人和农村人群的疾病。然而，中风教育可以有效地解决风险，但在这些偏远地区往往难以提供。本研究的目的是评估通过远程医疗向老年人提供中风教育与面对面的中风预防教育方法的效果。
本研究采用了准实验非等效对照组设计。从阿巴拉契亚老年人全面关怀计划（日托）设施中选择了 11 名平均年龄为 70 岁的老年成年人（36%为男性，64%为女性）作为便利样本。受试者完成了干预前调查，接受了 20 分钟的小组面对面或远程医疗教育课程，然后完成了干预后调查。
两组对传递方法和教育后知识的满意度相当。两组在教育计划后知识都有所增加。降低风险因素的可能性在测试前后没有差异。然而，与面对面组相比，远程医疗组的测试前和测试后可能性得分有显著提高。
该项目为农村高风险人群提供了远程医疗中风教育，使这些人能够从该领域的专家那里远程接受教育。远程医疗项目在满意度、知识和改变减少血管风险因素的可能性方面与面对面的中风教育相当。该研究证明了通过远程医疗提供有效中风教育的可行性，因此提示了一种经常被忽视的远程提供患者教育的途径。
