Assessing Health Care Professionals' Mindset in Adopting Telemedicine Post COVID-19: Pilot Questionnaire Study.

BACKGROUND: Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional health care model has evolved toward a more patient-centric model. In relation to this trend, digital health services have seen an acceleration, which may have significant implications for the health care model. Due to the impact of COVID-19 on health care facilities, it is important to explore health professionals' willingness to adopt a patient-centric digital health delivery model for medicine and health care. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to pilot a survey that assesses the impact and implementation of telehealth in view of health care providers prior to and post COVID-19. METHODS: A total of 26 volunteer health care professionals participated in the pilot study, of which 19/26 (73%) completed the general demographics portion. Among these respondents, 9/26 (35%) completed the entirety of the survey. The questionnaire included questions relating to general demographics, accessibility and benefits, usability, and engagements with telemedicine. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of the 4 questionnaire designs (A-D) based on their expertise in telehealth. Of the 9 total participants who completed their randomly assigned questionnaire, 1 (11%) was randomly assigned to A, 3 (33%) were randomly assigned to B, 2 (22%) were randomly assigned to C, and 3 (33%) were randomly assigned to D. RESULTS: Responses and data from the study questionnaire were collected from Qualtrics. Microsoft Excel was used for data organization. Due to limited responses and data, no advanced statistical software was implemented. From the 9 participants who completed the entirety of the survey, responses from those with telehealth experience (n=4) showed that telehealth was preferred for follow-ups, lab results, and consultations, and that with telehealth, there was greater flexibility with appointment times and a decrease in the number of patients seen. Among the 4 health care providers with telehealth experience, all of them believed it improved accessibility and reduced physical barriers; health care professionals believed telehealth reduced translational barriers with patients. Among health care professionals without telehealth experience (n=5), 60% (3/5) reported a decrease in appointments for in-office visits post COVID-19 and strongly agreed or agreed that telehealth could influence the quality of care for patients. All 5 participants also reported no general concerns about telehealth prior to the pandemic and agreed that it would provide accessibility for patients. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary findings of our pilot study showed initial support of a dynamical shift within the health care model due to the rise in the use of telehealth services between health care providers and patients but no statistically significant results. Further research and investigation with a larger sample size is warranted to better understand the mindset of health care professionals in adopting telemedicine post COVID-19.

The Impact of Learning Multiple Real-World Skills on Cognitive Abilities and Functional Independence in Healthy Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: The natural learning experience from infancy to emerging adulthood, when considerable cognitive and functional growth is observed, mandates learning multiple real-world skills simultaneously. The present studies investigated whether learning multiple real-world skills simultaneously is possible in older adults and also whether it improves both their cognitive abilities (working memory, episodic memory, and cognitive control) and functional independence. METHODS: Over two studies (15 and 27 participants), older adults learned at least three new skills (e.g., Spanish, drawing, music composition) simultaneously for 3 months. Participants completed cognitive and functional assessments before, during, and after the intervention in both studies. Participants were recruited sequentially for an intervention or no-contact control group in Study 1, and Study 2 included only an intervention group, who also completed assessments 4-6 weeks prior to the start of the intervention (i.e., they served as their own control group). RESULTS: Results from both studies show that simultaneously learning multiple skills is feasible and potentially beneficial for healthy older adults. Learning multiple skills simultaneously increased cognitive abilities in older adults by midpoint of the intervention, to levels similar to performance in a separate sample of middle-aged adults. DISCUSSION: Our findings demonstrate the feasibility and potential of conducting a real-world skill-learning intervention involving learning three novel skills with older adults. Our multiskill intervention may provide broad cognitive gains, akin to the benefits experienced earlier in the life span.

The Impact of Learning Multiple Real-World Skills on Cognitive Abilities and Functional Independence in Healthy Older Adults.

OBJECTIVE: The natural learning experience from infancy to emerging adulthood, when considerable cognitive and functional growth is observed, mandates learning multiple real-world skills simultaneously. The present studies investigated whether learning multiple real-world skills simultaneously is possible in older adults and also whether it improves both their cognitive abilities (working memory, episodic memory, and cognitive control) and functional independence. METHOD: Over two studies (15 and 27 participants), older adults learned at least three new skills (e.g., Spanish, drawing, music composition) simultaneously for 3 months. Participants completed cognitive and functional assessments before, during, and after the intervention in both studies. Participants were recruited sequentially for an intervention or no-contact control group in Study 1, and Study 2 included only an intervention group, who also completed assessments 4-6 weeks prior to the start of the intervention (i.e., they served as their own control group). RESULTS: Results from both studies show that simultaneously learning multiple skills is feasible and potentially beneficial for healthy older adults. Learning multiple skills simultaneously increased cognitive abilities in older adults by midpoint of the intervention, to levels similar to performance in a separate sample of middle-aged adults, 30 years younger. DISCUSSION: Our findings demonstrate the feasibility and potential of conducting a real-world skill-learning intervention involving learning three novel skills with older adults. Our multiskill intervention may provide broad cognitive gains, akin to the benefits experienced earlier in the life span.