Mobile health school screening and telemedicine referral to improve access to specialty care in rural Alaska: a cluster- randomised controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

School-based programmes, including hearing screening, provide essential preventive services for rural children. However, minimal evidence on screening methodologies, loss to follow-up, and scarcity of specialists for subsequent care compound rural health disparities. We hypothesised telemedicine specialty referral would improve time to follow-up for school hearing screening compared with standard primary care referral.

Methods

In this cluster-randomised controlled trial conducted in 15 rural Alaskan communities, USA, we randomised communities to telemedicine specialty referral (intervention) or standard primary care referral (control) for school hearing screening. All children (K-12; aged 4-21 years) enrolled in Bering Straight School District were eligible. Commu

SUBMITTER: Emmett SD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10642973 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature