Video conferencing-delivered health intervention

Abstract

Videoconferencing has emerged as a form of telemedicine for delivering health interventions since the turn of the millennium. It has many advantages over other forms of telemedicine like phone calls or web-based system because of its multisensory outputs. For instance, healthcare providers and care recipients can see each other, listen and interact with each other in real time. It makes the experiences of the remote physical or psychological therapy sessions, group health education, and medical consultation more satisfying. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the wide adoption of it, and there has been an upsurge of articles investigating the feasibility of videoconferencing as a form of healthcare delivery model. This chapter begins with a brief historical review of telemedicine and telehealth. Thereafter, the current evidence for the effectiveness, uniqueness, and challenges of videoconferencing-delivered health interventions is reviewed. Finally, the use of videoconferencing as an extension of space and place by traditional health institutions is discussed.