How Satisfied are Children and their Caregivers with Virtual Clinics? A Systematic Review of the Literature

Background: Following the Covid-19 outbreak the methods through which clinical consultations are delivered have greatly shifted. ‘Virtual healthcare’ or ‘telemedicine’ has become an increasingly dominant means of facilitating consultations between patients, caregivers and physicians while maintaining social distancing protocols. This is a sudden change from traditional face-to-face consultations. Prior to this pandemic, uptake of telemedicine was far slower than expected.

Objective: This systematic review aims to analyse published literature on the level of satisfaction of paediatric patients and their caregivers with virtual healthcare.

Methods: A systematic search of Pubmed, Medline, The Cochrane Library and Embase was conducted. Abstracts were examined and studies evaluating patient and/or caregiver satisfaction of real-time virtual paediatric consultations were included. Included studies were appraised using the McMaster Critical Review Forms for Quantitative/Qualitative Studies.

Results: Current telemedicine research primarily explores its cost effectiveness and is often restricted to the adult cohort. There are limited reviews regarding patient and/or caregiver satisfaction specifically in the field of paediatrics. Forty-four studies were eligible based on the inclusion criteria. Varying study designs were included and study methods primarily measured patient and/or caregiver satisfaction using Likert-like scale questionnaires or semi-structured interviews. Overall, majority of studies reported high levels of satisfaction with virtual healthcare. However, qualitative analysis found methodological issues in the included literature. In particular, a lack of transparency in the definition and measurement of satisfaction makes some studies difficult to interpret.

Conclusion: The majority of paediatric patients and caregivers appear to be satisfied with the use of virtual healthcare and many find it a comparable alternative to face-to-face consultations. However, due to the methodological limitations of the published research and the drastic increase in the use of telemedicine during the Covid-19 pandemic there is necessity for further exploration.