The Use of Telehealth for People With Disabilities: A Systematic Literature Review and Narrative Synthesis

Aims: To identify the use of telehealth for people with disabilities in community or primary care settings and to explore effective telehealth interventions for this group. Design: Systematic literature review and narrative synthesis. Data Sources: The literature search was conducted in January 2024 using five electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane library and PsycINFO. Methods: The review followed the Tawfik's guideline and adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines for reporting. Out of 7363 retrieved articles, 1871 duplicates were removed, 5389 were excluded after title and abstract review, and 4 were excluded due to unavailable full text. One additional article was obtained through citation and hand searching. Thirteen studies were quality assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Quantitative data were narratively synthesised. Results: Thirteen quantitative studies were selected including three quasi-experimental studies and ten randomised controlled trials. The types of telehealth included telemonitoring, computerised intervention, virtual reality, telephone care, mHealth tools, decision support tools, digital storytelling and technology-assisted language interventions. The most common type of disability was intellectual disability, and the most common telehealth provider was the digital device itself. Most studies used surveys as the data collection method and the interventions were mostly conducted individually. Computer-based telehealth interventions demonstrated significant improvement in attention, health knowledge and psychological well-being. Telephone, virtual reality and tablet interventions also had positive impacts on body weight, motor coordination and pragmatic language skills. Telemonitoring was also beneficial. Conclusions: This systematic review examined the current state and effectiveness of telehealth interventions for people with disabilities. However, few intervention studies were found, and some studies were of poor quality. Continued interest and efforts from the government and researchers are needed targeting people with disabilities. Impact: Results provide valuable insights for healthcare providers, policymakers and researchers. They raise awareness about the potential of telehealth to address healthcare disparities and improve access to care for people with disabilities. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution: Systematic review.