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For researchers
Discover telehealth research studies funded through Health and Human Services (HHS).
Behavioral health
Telehealth for the Treatment of Serious Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders
This guide reviews the research on the effectiveness of using telehealth for serious mental illness and substance abuse disorders. It makes recommendations for practice and provides examples of how practitioners use these practices in their programs.
Behavioral health
Telehealth Use in a Rural State: A Mixed Methods Study Using Maine's All-Payer Claims Database
The expansion of telehealth in Maine is partly driven by Medicare patients. This research suggests telehealth is improving access to behavioral health and speech-language pathology. Telehealth is limited, however, by access problems including provider shortages, lack of broadband, and other insurance coverage like Medicare and commercial policies.
Health equity Behavioral health
Telebehavioral Health Use Among Rural Medicaid Beneficiaries: Relationships with Telehealth Policies
This study examines Medicaid telehealth policies and telebehavioral health use among rural fee-for-service (FFS) patients. It finds that rural Medicaid FFS beneficiaries may have better access to telebehavioral health services when they give informed consent in a provider setting.
Behavioral health Health equity
Tele-Emergency Behavioral Health in Rural and Underserved Areas
Severe shortages of behavioral health specialists in rural and underserved areas make placing patients in appropriate facilities difficult. This paper describes two different emergency departments in the Midwest using telemedicine to address behavioral health access and placement for patients in rural and underserved areas. Findings suggest that transfer to in-patient facilities was much higher in both models when using telemedicine.
Behavioral health Emergency health
Cell Phone Counseling Improves Retention of Mothers With HIV Infection in Care and Infant HIV Testing in Kisumu, Kenya: A Randomized Controlled Study
This study shows the effectiveness of cell phone counseling to keep pregnant women with HIV in care in Kisumu, Kenya. Phone counseling helps reach and retain pregnant women with HIV infection and postpartum mothers in care. It also improved infant HIV testing and antenatal and postnatal care services.
Maternal health HIV/AIDS Behavioral health
Feasibility and acceptability of an online positive affect intervention for those living with comorbid HIV depression
This article presents pilot data of using an online intervention to improve the outlook of people living with both HIV and depression. The intervention was rated well by patients and was shown to be both acceptable and feasible to use.
HIV/AIDS Behavioral health
A Mobile Application for Monitoring and Management of Depressed Mood in a Vulnerable Pregnant Population
This study tested whether a mood tracking and alert mobile application (MTA app) improved mental health care in high-risk pregnant mothers. The MTA app monitored activity, mood, and alerted providers to signs of worsening symptoms. Women who received a telephone call triggered by an MTA app alert were significantly more likely to receive a mental health specialist referral.
Maternal health Behavioral health
Using Telehealth to Identify and Manage Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Conditions in Rural Areas
Access to behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment services is difficult in rural and other underserved areas due in part to the lack of specialty providers. Other challenges include primary care providers without experience in behavioral health treatment and individuals from smaller communities fearing stigma and lack of privacy. Telehealth can ease these challenges and support behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment through direct patient care, patient engagement, and provider education.
Behavioral health
The Empirical Evidence for Telemedicine Interventions in Mental Disorders
Telemedicine in behavioral health may improve access to services amidst the critical shortage of mental health professionals. This article reviews the research literature to assess how successful, feasible and cost-effective the use of telemedicine may be in the treatment of mental disorders.
Behavioral health
Health equity
HRSA's Evidence-Based Tele-Emergency Network Grant Program: Multi-site Prospective Cohort Analysis Across Six Rural Emergency Department Telemedicine Networks
Six rural hospital systems received grants from HRSA to study how their emergency telehealth departments affect outcomes for patients. Telehealth was often the patient’s first point of contact and usually resulted in a transfer to a distant hospital or local inpatient facility. Findings suggest that emergency telehealth plays an important role in improving access for rural emergency patients.
Emergency health Health equity
Telehealth Use in a Rural State: A Mixed Methods Study Using Maine's All-Payer Claims Database
The expansion of telehealth in Maine is partly driven by Medicare patients. This research suggests telehealth is improving access to behavioral health and speech-language pathology. Telehealth is limited, however, by access problems including provider shortages, lack of broadband, and other insurance coverage like Medicare and commercial policies.
Health equity Behavioral health
Telebehavioral Health Use Among Rural Medicaid Beneficiaries: Relationships with Telehealth Policies
This study examines Medicaid telehealth policies and telebehavioral health use among rural fee-for-service (FFS) patients. It finds that rural Medicaid FFS beneficiaries may have better access to telebehavioral health services when they give informed consent in a provider setting.
Behavioral health Health equity
Emergency Department Telemedicine Consults are Associated with Faster Time-to-ECG and Time-to-Fibrinolysis for Myocardial Infarction Patients
Heart attack is a common and deadly event that requires treatment as soon as possible. Telemedicine can improve how quickly heart attacks are diagnosed and treated in rural hospitals.
Emergency health Health equity
Provider-to-Provider Telemedicine Improves Adherence to Sepsis Bundle Care in Community Emergency Departments
Sepsis occurs when an infection reaches the bloodstream and getting care quickly improves the chances of survival. In this study, telemedicine in the emergency department improved the rates of adhering to the sepsis treatment protocol. The timely replacement of fluids and the administration of antibiotics greatly improved sepsis care at rural community hospitals.
Health equity Emergency health
The Use of and Experiences With Telelactation Among Rural Breastfeeding Mothers: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial
Telelactation services connecting breastfeeding mothers to lactation consultants increase access to professional breastfeeding support in rural areas. This research shows both high demand for and positive experiences with these telehealth services in an underserved population.
Maternal health Health equity
Telemedicine Use Decreases Rural Emergency Department Length of Stay for Transferred North Dakota Trauma Patients
Emergency department telemedicine consults for trauma patients were associated with faster hospital transfers and the increased use of radiography.
Emergency health Health equity
Urban Telemedicine Enables Equity in Access to Acute Illness Care
The use of telemedicine increased inner-city children’s access to acute care in Rochester, NY, closing a socio-economic gap.
Health equity
Emergency health
HRSA's Evidence-Based Tele-Emergency Network Grant Program: Multi-site Prospective Cohort Analysis Across Six Rural Emergency Department Telemedicine Networks
Six rural hospital systems received grants from HRSA to study how their emergency telehealth departments affect outcomes for patients. Telehealth was often the patient’s first point of contact and usually resulted in a transfer to a distant hospital or local inpatient facility. Findings suggest that emergency telehealth plays an important role in improving access for rural emergency patients.
Emergency health Health equity
Averted Transfers in Rural Emergency Departments Using Telemedicine: Rates and Costs Across Six TeleED Networks
Using telemedicine in rural emergency departments saved an average of $2,673 per patient by avoiding transport costs. The majority of the cost savings went to public insurance.
Emergency health
Emergency Department Telemedicine Consults are Associated with Faster Time-to-ECG and Time-to-Fibrinolysis for Myocardial Infarction Patients
Heart attack is a common and deadly event that requires treatment as soon as possible. Telemedicine can improve how quickly heart attacks are diagnosed and treated in rural hospitals.
Emergency health Health equity
Provider-to-Provider Telemedicine Improves Adherence to Sepsis Bundle Care in Community Emergency Departments
Sepsis occurs when an infection reaches the bloodstream and getting care quickly improves the chances of survival. In this study, telemedicine in the emergency department improved the rates of adhering to the sepsis treatment protocol. The timely replacement of fluids and the administration of antibiotics greatly improved sepsis care at rural community hospitals.
Health equity Emergency health
Tele-Emergency Behavioral Health in Rural and Underserved Areas
Severe shortages of behavioral health specialists in rural and underserved areas make placing patients in appropriate facilities difficult. This paper describes two different emergency departments in the Midwest using telemedicine to address behavioral health access and placement for patients in rural and underserved areas. Findings suggest that transfer to in-patient facilities was much higher in both models when using telemedicine.
Behavioral health Emergency health
Pediatric tele-emergency care: A study of two delivery models
The study evaluates two tele-emergency department programs for pediatric patients with different designs, one general and one specialized. The study shows design choices affect how programs are evaluated and highlights the challenge of creating standard metrics.
Emergency health
Telemedicine Use Decreases Rural Emergency Department Length of Stay for Transferred North Dakota Trauma Patients
Emergency department telemedicine consults for trauma patients were associated with faster hospital transfers and the increased use of radiography.
Emergency health Health equity
School-based health
The Future of Telehealth in School-Based Health Centers: Lessons from COVID-19
A qualitative analysis of nationally-led "Listening and Learning" sessions by the School-Based Health Alliance revealed substantial innovation and expansion of telehealth services due to COVID-10. School-based health programs were shown to reduce barriers to health care access, protect the most vulnerable, and decrease the spread of disease. Telehealth implementations in schools may also help keep youth from emergency departments and provide needed mental health care.
School-based health
Telehealth in school-based practice: Perceived viability to bridge global OT practitioner shortages prior to COVID-19 global health emergency
Telehealth delivery of Occupational Therapy has the potential to offset a global shortage of practitioners. The study shows that school-based health adoption may be a positive trend as long as both Occupational Therapist Practitioners and school administrators receive comprehensive, ongoing training.
School-based health
Association of a School-Based, Asthma-Focused Telehealth Program With Emergency Department Visits Among Children Enrolled in South Carolina Medicaid
Telehealth programs with a focus on chronic pediatric diseases, such as asthma, may improve children’s health in rural and medically underserved communities. These kinds of programs are associated with a more than 20% overall reduction in emergency department visits.
School-based health
The Use of Telehealth in School-Based Health Centers
school-based health programs can expand health care access to rural and underserved youth by eliminating barriers to access, such as transportation. This article describes characteristics of School-Based health Centers using technology to add to the access of care beyond onsite providers for underserved communities.
School-based health
Effect of the School-Based Telemedicine Enhanced Asthma Management (SB-TEAM) Program on Asthma Morbidity
School-based programs that incorporate telemedicine to link to primary care can improve outcomes for urban children with asthma. This randomized clinical trial included 400 children. It showed an increase in symptom-free days and fewer emergency department visits or hospitalizations for children using telehealth compared with usual care.
School-based health
Maternal health
Maternal Telehealth Access Project (MTAP) Report on Community Grant Program
The Maternal Telehealth Access Project (MTAP) was launched to ensure that quality telehealth prenatal and postpartum services are accessible and available in underserved communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased access to perinatal services and support via telehealth, including clinical care, care coordination, support, and doulas/community health workers leads to improved clinical outcomes for moms and babies
Maternal health
A telehealth lifestyle intervention to reduce excess gestational weight gain in pregnant women with overweight or obesity (GLOW): a randomised, parallel-group, controlled trial
Significant weight gain in pregnancy among overweight or obese women increases their already elevated risk of having gestational diabetes, a cesarean delivery, and post-partum weight retention. It also increases the chances of a larger infant and the child's risk of obesity. This research investigated whether a telehealth lifestyle intervention reduced excess weight gain in participants.
Maternal health
Telehealth with remote blood pressure monitoring compared with standard care for postpartum hypertension
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) affect 10% of the pregnancies in the United States and are the most common reason for postpartum hospital readmissions. This study considers whether postpartum home telehealth with remote blood pressure monitoring could reduce the readmission rates during the first 6 weeks postpartum in women with HDP.
Maternal health Remote patient monitoring
A Postpartum Remote Hypertension Monitoring Protocol Implemented at the Hospital Level
This study evaluated using remote blood pressure monitoring on postpartum women with hypertension when they leave the hospital. It found that remote monitoring of this type showed high patient compliance, retention, and satisfaction.
Remote patient monitoring Maternal health
The Use of and Experiences With Telelactation Among Rural Breastfeeding Mothers: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial
Telelactation services connecting breastfeeding mothers to lactation consultants increase access to professional breastfeeding support in rural areas. This research shows both high demand for and positive experiences with these telehealth services in an underserved population.
Maternal health Health equity
Cell Phone Counseling Improves Retention of Mothers With HIV Infection in Care and Infant HIV Testing in Kisumu, Kenya: A Randomized Controlled Study
This study shows the effectiveness of cell phone counseling to keep pregnant women with HIV in care in Kisumu, Kenya. Phone counseling helps reach and retain pregnant women with HIV infection and postpartum mothers in care. It also improved infant HIV testing and antenatal and postnatal care services.
Maternal health HIV/AIDS Behavioral health
A Mobile Application for Monitoring and Management of Depressed Mood in a Vulnerable Pregnant Population
This study tested whether a mood tracking and alert mobile application (MTA app) improved mental health care in high-risk pregnant mothers. The MTA app monitored activity, mood, and alerted providers to signs of worsening symptoms. Women who received a telephone call triggered by an MTA app alert were significantly more likely to receive a mental health specialist referral.
Maternal health Behavioral health
Remote patient monitoring
Telehealth with remote blood pressure monitoring compared with standard care for postpartum hypertension
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) affect 10% of the pregnancies in the United States and are the most common reason for postpartum hospital readmissions. This study considers whether postpartum home telehealth with remote blood pressure monitoring could reduce the readmission rates during the first 6 weeks postpartum in women with HDP.
Maternal health Remote patient monitoring
A Postpartum Remote Hypertension Monitoring Protocol Implemented at the Hospital Level
This study evaluated using remote blood pressure monitoring on postpartum women with hypertension when they leave the hospital. It found that remote monitoring of this type showed high patient compliance, retention, and satisfaction.
Remote patient monitoring Maternal health
Feasibility of an image-based mobile health protocol for postoperative wound monitoring
Patients and caregivers were willing and able to use a mobile program to monitor wounds after surgery. Early results showed health providers identified and managed wound complications.
Remote patient monitoring
HIV/AIDS
Cell Phone Counseling Improves Retention of Mothers With HIV Infection in Care and Infant HIV Testing in Kisumu, Kenya: A Randomized Controlled Study
This study shows the effectiveness of cell phone counseling to keep pregnant women with HIV in care in Kisumu, Kenya. Phone counseling helps reach and retain pregnant women with HIV infection and postpartum mothers in care. It also improved infant HIV testing and antenatal and postnatal care services.
Maternal health HIV/AIDS Behavioral health
Randomized Controlled Trial of a Mobile Health Intervention to Promote Retention and Adherence to Preexposure Prophylaxis Among Young People at Risk for Human Immunodeficiency Virus: The EPIC Study
Young people are the least likely to use protection against sexually transmitting the HIV virus. An interactive text-messaging intervention significantly increased the odds of using protection among young individuals at risk for getting HIV.
HIV/AIDS
Text Messages Can Encourage Patients to Discuss and Receive HIV Testing in Primary Care
Regular HIV testing does not often happen in primary care visits. Doctors want patients to ask for the test, as opposed to suggesting it themselves. This study finds that using a patient-centered text message campaign may prompt patients to discuss HIV testing with their physicians, thereby increasing HIV testing.
HIV/AIDS
Feasibility and acceptability of an online positive affect intervention for those living with comorbid HIV depression
This article presents pilot data of using an online intervention to improve the outlook of people living with both HIV and depression. The intervention was rated well by patients and was shown to be both acceptable and feasible to use.
HIV/AIDS Behavioral health
Workforce development
Leveraging Digital Platforms to Scale Health Care Workforce Development: The Career 911 Massive Open Online Course
A massive open online course (MOOC) called Career 911 was created to encourage students from diverse backgrounds to explore health-related professions.
Workforce development
Telepsychiatric Consultation as a Training and Workforce Development Strategy for Rural Primary Care
There is a shortage of rural primary care personnel with expertise in team care for patients with common mental disorders. This research investigated the feasibility of regular systematic case reviews through telepsychiatric consultation, within collaborative care for depression, as a continuous training and workforce development strategy in rural clinics.
Workforce development
The Technological Impact of COVID-19 on the Future of Education and Health Care Delivery
This commentary discusses the abrupt technological changes in providing health care since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors note that some of these changes are positive and should be preserved or modified beyond the public health emergency. They argue clinicians must be objective in assessing and retaining those changes that clearly improve healthcare education and patient care moving forward.
Workforce development