Teleaudiology facilitators: A scoping review (Coco et al., 2020)

Purpose: Teleaudiology helps improve access to hearing health care by overcoming the geographic gap between providers and patients. In many teleaudiology encounters, a facilitator is needed at the patient site to help with hands-on aspects of procedures. The aim of this study was to review the scope and nature of research around patient-site facilitators in teleaudiology. We focused on identifying the facilitators’ background, training, and responsibilities.Method: To conduct this scoping review, we searched PubMed, CINAHL, and Embase. To be included, studies needed to address teleaudiology; be experimental/quasi-experimental, correlational/predictive, or descriptive; be published in English; and include the use of a facilitator at the patient location.Results: A total of 82 studies met the inclusion criteria. The available literature described a number of different individuals in the role of the patient-site facilitator, including audiologists, students, and local aides. Fifty-seven unique tasks were identified, including orienting the client to the space, assisting with technology, and assisting with audiology procedures. The largest number of studies (n = 42) did not describe the facilitators’ training. When reported, the facilitators’ training was heterogenous in terms of who delivered the training, the length of the training, and the training content.Conclusions: Across studies, the range of duties performed by patient-site facilitators indicates they may have an important role in teleaudiology. However, details are still needed surrounding their background, responsibilities, and training. Future research is warranted exploring the role of the patient-site facilitator, including their impact on teleaudiology service delivery.Supplemental Material S1. Summary of review studies.Supplemental Material S2. Audiology-related sub-specialty duties performed by patient-site facilitators with citations.Supplemental Material S3. General telehealth duties performed by patient-site facilitators with citations.Coco, L., Davidson, A., & Marrone, N. (2020). The role of patient-site facilitators in teleaudiology: A scoping review. American Journal of Audiology, 29(3S), 661-675. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_AJA-19-00070Publisher Note: This article is part of the Special Issue: 4th International Meeting on Internet and Audiology.

研究目的：远程听力学旨在通过克服医疗服务提供者与患者之间的地理隔阂，以提升听力健康护理的可及性。在许多远程听力学互动中，患者现场需要一个辅助人员以协助操作方面的实际工作。本研究的目的是综述关于患者现场辅助人员的研究范围与性质。我们聚焦于识别辅助人员的背景、培训和职责。研究方法：为进行此项范围综述，我们检索了PubMed、CINAHL和Embase数据库。纳入标准包括研究需涉及远程听力学；为实验性/准实验性、相关性/预测性或描述性研究；以英语发表；并在患者现场使用辅助人员。研究结果：共有82项研究符合纳入标准。现有文献描述了在患者现场辅助人员角色中，包括听力学家、学生和当地助手在内的多种不同个体。共识别出57项独特任务，包括引导客户熟悉空间、协助使用技术以及协助听力学程序。在所有研究中，描述辅助人员培训的最多（n = 42）未提及培训细节。当有报告时，辅助人员的培训在培训提供者、培训时长和培训内容方面存在异质性。研究结论：跨研究分析显示，患者现场辅助人员所承担的职责范围表明他们在远程听力学中可能发挥着重要作用。然而，关于他们的背景、职责和培训的详细信息仍有待进一步探究。未来的研究有必要探讨患者现场辅助人员的作用，包括他们对远程听力学服务交付的影响。补充材料S1：综述研究摘要。补充材料S2：患者现场辅助人员在耳科学相关亚专业中承担的职责及其参考文献。补充材料S3：患者现场辅助人员在远程医疗中承担的一般职责及其参考文献。Coco, L.，Davidson, A.，& Marrone, N.（2020）。远程听力学中患者现场辅助人员的作用：一项范围综述。美国听力学杂志，29（3S），661-675。https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_AJA-19-00070出版者注：本文是特别专题：第4届国际互联网与耳科学会议的一部分。