Peer-reviewed article
Nurses' Perspectives on Telehealth: Insights From Australian Maternal and Child Health Services.
Kim Howland, Kristina Edvardsson, Leesa Hooker ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This qualitative study explored how nurses in Australian maternal and child health services view and use telehealth. Nurses generally found telehealth acceptable, especially for group programmes and parent education, but its use was inconsistent and faced barriers including poor internet connectivity, limited device access, and concerns about clinical assessment and safety. Success depends on training, IT infrastructure, strong leadership, and approaches tailored to different family needs.
Key points
- Telehealth was used for consultations, follow-up appointments and group programmes via video and telephone, but use was inconsistent and context-dependent
- Nurses viewed telehealth as acceptable, particularly for group programmes, parent education and maintaining engagement with families unable to attend in person
- Barriers included poor internet connectivity, limited device access, reluctance from families and practitioners, reduced capacity for clinical assessment, and safety and confidentiality concerns
- Implementation drivers identified: clinical competency through training and guidelines, organisational supports including IT infrastructure and systems integration, and strong government and policy leadership
- Long-term success requires coordinated system planning, context-responsive approaches, and support for workforce capacity and relationships
Limitations
This study explores nurses' perspectives only and does not measure outcomes for children or families receiving telehealth care. The findings are specific to Australian maternal and child health services and may not generalise to other settings or countries.
Abstract
AIM(S): To explore the acceptability, implementation and sustainability of telehealth in a well-child health nursing service. DESIGN: Qualitative interpretive-descriptive design. METHODS: Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants from rural and metropolitan Maternal and Child Health nursing services in Victoria, Australia. Nine online focus groups were conducted with nurses and managers (n = 28) between June and August 2023. Transcripts were analysed inductively using reflexive thematic analysis. Interpretive Description informed the research design and analytic approach, and Fixsen's Implementation Framework guided interpretation of findings. RESULTS: Telehealth was frequently used across the services for individual consultations, follow-up appointments and group programmes, delivered through video and telephone platforms. Participants generally viewed telehealth as acceptable, particularly for group programmes, parent education and maintaining engagement when families were unable to attend in person. However, use was inconsistent and often limited to specific circumstances. Barriers included poor internet connectivity, limited access to devices, reluctance from both families and practitioners, reduced capacity for clinical assessment and concerns about safety, confidentiality and suitability for families with complex needs. Participants identified several strategies to strengthen telehealth delivery. Key implementation drivers included clinical competency (training, guidelines), organisational supports (IT infrastructure and systems integration) and strong leadership from governments and policy bodies. CONCLUSION: Telehealth is increasingly used to improve equity and access, with this study offering insights into its acceptability, implementation and sustainability in maternal and child health nursing. While promising, its long-term success depends on coordinated system planning and context-responsive approaches that support continuity, workforce capacity and relationships. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: Impact: This study fills a gap in evidence on telehealth use in well-child health nursing. Telehealth is used in varied ways and is generally acceptable, but providers face persistent barriers to consistent implementation and sustainability. These findings can inform policy, service planning and workforce development to strengthen telehealth-enabled care for families. REPORTING METHOD: This paper has adhered to the EQUATOR guidelines, using the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No Patient or Public Contribution.