Accelerating autism diagnosis using asynchronous telehealth technology
| Autor: | Uwe Reischl, Michael Morrier, Gwen Mitchell, Ron Oberleitner |
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| Rok vydání: | 2023 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health. 10:1000-1004 |
| ISSN: | 2394-6040 2394-6032 |
| DOI: | 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20230613 |
| Popis: | Background: Early identification and treatment of autism can prevent additional behavioral problems later in a child’s life. Long wait lists and travel limitations can often make it difficult for parents to obtain timely evaluations. A new telehealth technology has been developed that can provide clinicians with the ability to remotely observe a child’s behavior at home and allows parents to communicate with the clinician directly. The objective of this study was to compare the length of time from referral to the completion of a child’s diagnostic evaluation using asynchronous telehealth (TH) and using the traditional in-person assessment method (IPA). Methods: Three tertiary autism diagnostic centers in the United States conducted this study between 2016 and 2018. All three institutional review boards approved the research. Twenty-eight children were assigned to an IPA group and 29 children were assigned to a TH group. The IPA assessment was based on a standard in-person evaluation. Telehealth assessments used the naturalistic observation diagnostic assessment (NODA) system. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Required sample size was determined by power analysis. Results: For the three diagnostic centers, the average time from referral to completion of an autism diagnosis with IPA was 115 days and 66 days with telehealth. Conclusions: The NODA TH video-capture smartphone‐based technology offered a significant timesaving advantage for families seeking autism diagnostic services. The TH technology provided families located in remote areas with easier access to autism evaluations. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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