Occupational Therapy Telehealth Interventions Across Populations From 2019 to 2022: A Systematic Review.

IMPORTANCE

The utilization of telehealth to deliver occupational therapy services and research focusing on the effectiveness of these interventions has increased since 2020.

OBJECTIVE

To update systematic review findings since 2019 on the effectiveness of occupational therapy telehealth interventions for clients of all ages.

DATA SOURCES: Data were gathered from PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and hand searching relevant literature.

STUDY SELECTION AND DATA COLLECTION: This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Articles selected included telehealth-delivered occupational therapy, peer-reviewed publications in English between 2019 and 2022, and Levels 1b, 2b, or 3b evidence.

FINDINGS: Forty-three studies were included. Strong strength of evidence supports telehealth interventions for lifestyle interventions to address chronic conditions. Moderate strength of evidence supports telehealth interventions for various outcomes to address chronic conditions, developmental disorders, neurological conditions, and people affected by COVID-19 isolation. Low strength of evidence supports telehealth interventions for various outcomes across identified subthemes.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Telehealth use is rapidly increasing. Evidence supports occupational therapy-delivered telehealth for clients experiencing a chronic or musculoskeletal condition and may support interventions for other populations. Plain-Language Summary: This study provides a summary of 43 articles on the effectiveness of occupational therapy telehealth interventions for all ages and populations from 2019 to 2022. Telehealth occupational therapy interventions can effectively support clients with chronic conditions and shows promise for promoting outcomes to address developmental disorders, neurological conditions, musculoskeletal conditions, and those who were affected by isolation during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.