Gifford V, Niles B, Rivkin I, Koverola C, Polaha J
Psychology Department, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.
Rural Remote Health. 2012;12:2108. Epub 2012 Dec 17.
Telehealth allows behavioral health care and specialty services to be extended to rural residents. Telehealth is an important resource for the Alaskan healthcare system, which is tasked with providing services to culturally diverse populations living in remote areas. Training competent providers to deliver telehealth services is vital for the implementation of successful telehealth programs. Yet, the literature is lacking in the area of provider behavioral telehealth competency training.
This study assessed the impact of a Behavioral Telehealth Ethical Competencies Training program on 16 behavioral health providers' development of behavioral telehealth competency. A total of 14 competencies were developed, which required participants to understand the roles and responsibilities of a behavioral telehealth coordinator working at the distal site as well as the roles and responsibilities of the therapist. Video vignettes evaluating the 14 competencies, self-reported competence surveys and follow-up surveys of progress on telehealth goals were utilized to assess effects of the training.
Results indicated participants' behavioral telehealth competencies increased following training. Participants reported positive perceptions regarding their competency, and achieved progress on the majority of behavioral telehealth goals set during the training.
This study provides a baseline for developing a best practice model for behavioral telehealth service delivery by identifying specific provider competencies for administering effective behavioral telehealth services. A unique continuing education training model, led by content experts including university professors and Alaska Native Elders, incorporating behavioral telehealth, rural ethics, cultural competency and vicarious trauma training is described. Lastly, this study details the use of an innovative video vignette assessment instrument for evaluating the effectiveness of continuing education training.
远程医疗使行为健康护理和专科服务能够扩展到农村居民。远程医疗是阿拉斯加医疗系统的一项重要资源，该系统负责为生活在偏远地区、文化背景各异的人群提供服务。培训有能力的提供者来提供远程医疗服务对于成功实施远程医疗项目至关重要。然而，在提供者行为远程医疗能力培训领域，相关文献尚显不足。
本研究评估了行为远程医疗伦理能力培训项目对16名行为健康提供者行为远程医疗能力发展的影响。共制定了14项能力要求，要求参与者了解在远端站点工作的行为远程医疗协调员的角色和职责以及治疗师的角色和职责。通过评估这14项能力的视频短片、自我报告的能力调查问卷以及关于远程医疗目标进展的后续调查问卷来评估培训效果。
结果表明，培训后参与者的行为远程医疗能力有所提高。参与者对自己的能力有积极的看法，并且在培训期间设定的大多数行为远程医疗目标上取得了进展。
本研究通过确定提供有效行为远程医疗服务的特定提供者能力，为制定行为远程医疗服务提供的最佳实践模型提供了一个基线。描述了一种独特的继续教育培训模式，由包括大学教授和阿拉斯加原住民长者在内的内容专家主导，纳入行为远程医疗、农村伦理、文化能力和替代性创伤培训。最后，本研究详细介绍了一种创新的视频短片评估工具在评估继续教育培训效果方面的应用。
