Leveraging Telehealth to Promote Health Equity: Looking Back on Lessons Learned from a COVID-19 Response Grant to Shape the Future of Health Care

Full Description: The pandemic resulted in tremendous changes in health care delivery, including an increase in pediatric providers, families, and MCH Title V/CYSHCN programs utilizing telehealth. Telehealth utilization remains higher than pre-pandemic levels. While the world is hopeful that the worst of the pandemic is over, systems of care that serve children and families can reflect on lessons learned related to changes in care delivery throughout 2020 and 2021.

In response to COVID-19, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) was awarded a grant from HRSA to increase access to care via telehealth for all children and adolescents, in the medical home model, during and after the pandemic. The project, “Supporting Providers and Families to Access Telehealth and Distant Care Services for Pediatric Care”, focused on telehealth utilization for rural and other underserved populations.

The project placed intentional focus on efforts to better understand how telehealth can be used to promote health equity. These efforts can be categorized into two themes: creating an anti-racist and equitable telehealth environment, and how telehealth can increase access to care for underserved populations – specifically increasing access to mental health care, care for rural populations, and care for CYSHCN.

Informed by a series of focus groups, the AAP developed an educational resource featuring a recorded panel discussion and case studies to support clinicians in fostering an anti-racist and equitable telehealth environment. The project also supported telehealth utilization in rural populations, for CYSHCN, and for clinicians caring for children/adolescents with mental health needs. 18 AAP Chapters and 35 rural practices were supported in implementing projects that encouraged improved access to the medical home model of care via telehealth for these populations. These projects supported system-building efforts among AAP Chapters, MCH Title V/CYSHCN programs, clinicians, and families as a means of ensuring access to care for all children and adolescents.

This poster will summarize the efforts of a COVID-19 response grant to better understand how to foster equitable telehealth environments and how to increase access to telehealth for underserved populations. The poster will include information about how connections to local resources/programs can help MCH Title V/CYSHCN programs improve access to the medical home model via telehealth, in alignment with National Performance Measure 11.

This poster operationalizes the conference theme by encouraging reflection on lessons learned from care delivery during the pandemic and consideration of the role that telehealth can play in ensuring future equitable access to care.

Abbreviated Description: Attendees will be able to summarize the efforts of a COVID-19 response grant to better understand how to foster a welcoming and anti-racist telehealth environment. Lessons learned on how to use telehealth to promote health equity will be shared, with a focus on increasing access to care for various underserved populations, including children/adolescents with mental health concerns, CYSHCN, and rural and other underserved populations. Content will include a focus on local resources with which MCH Title V/CYSHCN programs can connect (eg, pediatric mental health care access (PMHCA) programs, AAP Chapters, etc.