E. Trushaw1, T. Duong1, S. Petrus1, H. Smith T1, M. Dye2, R. Hollis1, D. Gunnells1, D. Chu1 1University Of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA 2Samford University, Birmingham, ALABAMA, USA
Introduction: Telehealth visits have been increasingly used in recent years. Most rely upon verbal communication. Previous studies have demonstrated that audio-visual aids in patient education enhance understanding and health outcomes, but there may be a barrier to their use in the telehealth setting. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the impact that simple visual aids would have in telehealth visits.
Methods: Patients scheduled for elective telehealth surgical clinic encounters in July-August 2022 were identified and randomized to receive standard verbal explanations alone (control) vs. visual aids using whiteboards plus verbal explanations (intervention). Health literacy was measured using the validated Brief Health Literacy Screening Tool (BRIEF). Pre-encounter trust was measured using the Wake Forrest Physician Trust Scale (WFPTS). On completion of the clinic visit, patients then completed a 5-item post-encounter survey to rate their overall understanding of information exchanged in the clinic visit. Post-encounter trust with the WFPTS was measured again to assess change in trust.
Results: Twenty-six patients were enrolled. The mean age was 50 years [range 31-58]. 46.2% were female and 53.8% were male. White patient comprised 73.3% (22 patients), Black patients comprised 10% (3 patients), and one patient declined to report race. Health literacy levels were adequate (18 patients, 69.2%), marginal (4 patients, 15.4%) and low (3 patient, 11.5%). Average self-reported trust score improved for the verbal explanation by +0.5 vs. +3.5 for those also receiving the visual aid intervention (p=0.39). Average understanding score for patients receiving whiteboards (24.6) was significantly higher than that of patients receiving verbal explanations alone (22.3) (p<0.028).
Conclusion: Use of visual aids in telehealth encounters may improve trust to a greater degree than verbal explanations alone. Visual aids significantly improved understanding more than standard of care. While the use of visual aids may play in important role in telehealth encounters, further investigation is necessary to elucidate their full impact on patients’ informed decision making and relationships with their healthcare providers.