Caregiver Support Role in Occupational Therapy Video Telehealth: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Occupational Therapy
• Telehealth
• Patient Care

Background:

• Caregiver involvement can enhance patient participation in occupational therapy (OT) video telehealth.
• Current understanding of the extent and nature of caregiver roles in this setting is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the caregiver role in supporting patient participation in OT video telehealth.
• To identify barriers and facilitators influencing caregiver involvement in OT video telehealth.

Main Methods:

• This study conducted a scoping review of existing literature.
• The review focused on identifying and synthesizing information on caregiver roles, barriers, and facilitators.

Main Results:

• Caregivers participate in various OT evaluation and intervention processes via video telehealth.
• Specific details regarding the overall actions of caregivers were often lacking in the reviewed literature.
• Identified barriers and facilitators to caregiver involvement were also described.

Conclusions:

• Caregiver participation is evident in OT video telehealth, but detailed descriptions are needed.
• Clearer documentation of caregiver roles is essential for optimizing best practices in telehealth delivery.
• Further research should focus on robustly defining and reporting caregiver involvement in telehealth interventions.