UC Irvine

The Covid-19 pandemic has propelled the use of telehealth rather than in-person visits driven forward by the California state-mandated Stay-home-orders and social distancing guidelines. During this public health crisis, high-risk older adult populations faced many barriers preventing them from utilizing telehealth to the full extent and maximizing their potential to obtain better health outcomes. This DNP scholarly project is a quality improvement project and feasibility study that aims to reduce these barriers to the adoption of telehealth in older adults, with the goal of improving digital literacy through an intervention of telehealth education. Building upon the parent study “Assisting and Supporting Socially Isolated Seniors Through Telehealth in the Covid-19 Pandemic,” a group of 21 older adult participants from a geriatrics specialty clinic was recruited and provided with the latest technology to self-monitor their vital signs (blood pressure and weight) in the comfort and safety of their own home. As an intervention, these participants were provided with 1) senior-friendly education materials; 2) in-person hands-on teaching session by Registered Nurse (RN) or DNP educators; 3) weekly check-in phone calls by RN educators and medical student volunteers to help improve digital literacy and boost telehealth utilization. A survey was collected immediate post-intervention to determine the efficacy of the intervention, and an interview was conducted with the RN educators who were involved in the education process. In the end, it was found that the RN educators were successful in educating the older adult participants. Post-intervention, participants were able to overcome their physical challenges that hindered their use of telehealth through personalized teaching. They were also able to navigate through technology with greater confidence and competence, leading to better management of their own health. Moreover, these socially isolated older adults reported significant benefits from the social connection and ongoing support that they received from the research team. In the end, the intervention was deemed successful in engaging and facilitating the participants’ utilization of technology as well as improving their digital literacy.