Abstract
Objective: With the increase in recent number of
mental health problems including PTSD, depression and substance abuse in
veteran population, there is an increased need for effective mental health
services. According to the US department of Veteran Affairs, as a veteran who
has been honorably discharged, he or she can have veteran medical insurance for
free lifelong, which allows them to go to any VA hospitals for free for any
services that are provided there, including telemedicine. The aim of this study
was to assess if student veterans are willing to utilize telemedicine for
behavioral health services, and if not, what were the factors that influenced
their decisions and opinions about telemedicine.
Method & Participants: Online anonymous survey which was
distributed randomly to student veterans. Quantitative data was collected and
analyzed by Microsoft Excel. Subjects were selected based on inclusion and
exclusion criteria stated in the study. Subjects were asked to complete the
survey which lasted approximately 5 mins and were also given the opportunity to
watch a video which educated them about telemedicine.
Results: The survey was sent to 150 student
veterans and was completed by 74 students (n=74). Age, gender, and ethnicity
showed to play an important role in student veterans' willingness in using telehealth.
More than 50% of subjects claimed that they were not sure if the service was
covered under their current insurance. In total, 80% of the respondents who
never used telemedicine showed interest in utilizing telehealth whether they
had been aware of it or not. In terms of future interest and telehealth
promotion, 75% student veterans responded "definitely will" to not
only the question on using telehealth again, but also to that of recommending
telehealth to their friends and family.
Conclusion: This study found that making student
veterans aware of telehealth services yielded a strong correlation in the
willingness to use the service in the future.
Subjects also reported a high
degree of satisfaction with telemedicine and a willingness to participate in telemedicine clinical care in
the future. This survey also provided knowledge for the participants as those
who were not aware were educated via a video. Questions presented in the survey
after the video revealed a positive feedback in the willingness to use
telehealth in the future.
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IJAHSS by IPRPD is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.