The Barriers and Facilitators for Nurse Educators Using Telehealth for Education

Telehealth is available world-wide and in addition to clinical uses, it can also be used to provide education for health professionals, supporting e-Networking. However, within New Zealand the uptake and widespread use of telehealth remains low, and why telehealth is not used more is not understood. This study describes nurse educators use of telehealth for education and identifies barriers and facilitators to increase the uptake of telehealth amongst nurse educators. An on-line survey administered using Survey Monkey had a response rate of 57% (n = 19). Equipment that was not user friendly and a lack of initial training were recognised as barriers to their uptake of telehealth. Telehealth training and support, and local champions were identified facilitators to increase the uptake of telehealth. Recommendations include the need for early adopting nurse educators to be recognised and encouraged, to role model good practice in telehealth, and mentor and support others.