ArticleBMC health services research2021
Leveraging Telehealth to improve access to care: a qualitative evaluation of Veterans' experience with the VA TeleSleep program.
Article in BMC health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Telehealth utilization during the Covid-19 pandemic: A systematic review.Computers in biology and medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Willingness for video visits for non-emergent health issues, mental health, or specialty visits.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Lessons learned from a qualitative evaluation of Veterans' experience with the VA tele-PAP program during the COVID pandemic.Frontiers in health services · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of mailed versus in-person PAP initiation in the Veterans Affairs' TeleSleep program.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2025Article
- "Sleep Is Not Getting the Attention It Deserves": A Qualitative Study of Patient and Provider Views on Sleep Management in the Veterans Health Administration.Medical care · 2025Article
- Recommendations for permanent sleep telehealth: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2025Article
- Trial of an mHealth intervention to improve HIV prophylaxis for female sex workers, United Republic of Tanzania.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2024Article
- Implementing TeleSleep at Veterans Healthcare Administration: an organizational case study of adaptation and sustainment.Frontiers in sleep · 2024Article
- Feasibility of Remote Administration of the Uniform Data Set-Version 3 for Assessment of Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease.Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists · 2024Article
- Research Priorities to Expand Virtual Care Access for Patients in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System.Journal of general internal medicine · 2024Review
- Investigating a clinically informed sleep disturbance threshold for physical and mental health among Gulf War Illness veterans.Sleep advances : a journal of the Sleep Research Society · 2024Article
- Implementation of a Multicomponent Otago-Based Virtual Fall Reduction, Education, and Exercise Program (MOVing FREEly) in Older Veterans.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Retention in an mHealth App Aiming to Promote the Use of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Among Female Sex Workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Prospective Cohort Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2023Article
- Patient Satisfaction With a Multisite, Multiregional Remote Patient Monitoring Program for Acute and Chronic Condition Management: Survey-Based Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Article
- Patient experiences with telehealth in sleep medicine: a qualitative evaluation.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundObstructive sleep apnea is common among rural Veterans, however, access to diagnostic sleep testing, sleep specialists, and treatment devices is limited. To improve access to sleep care, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) implemented a national sleep telemedicine program. The TeleSleep program components included: 1) virtual clinical encounters; 2) home sleep apnea testing; and 3) web application for Veterans and providers to remotely monitor symptoms, sleep quality and use of positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy. This study aimed to identify factors impacting Veteran's participation, satisfaction and experience with the TeleSleep program as part of a quality improvement initiative.
methodsSemi-structured interview questions elicited patient perspectives and preferences regarding accessing and engaging with TeleSleep care. Rapid qualitative and matrix analysis methods for health services research were used to organize and describe the qualitative data.
resultsThirty Veterans with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) recruited from 6 VA telehealth "hubs" participated in interviews. Veterans reported positive experiences with sleep telemedicine, including improvements in sleep quality, other health conditions, and quality of life. Access to care improved as a result of decreased travel burden and ability of both clinicians and Veterans to remotely monitor and track personal sleep data. Overall experiences with telehealth technology were positive. Veterans indicated a strong preference for VA over non-VA community-based sleep care. Patient recommendations for change included improving scheduling, continuity and timeliness of communication, and the equipment refill process.
conclusionsThe VA TeleSleep program improved patient experiences across multiple aspects of care including a reduction in travel burden, increased access to clinicians and remote monitoring, and patient-reported health and quality of life outcomes, though some communication and continuity challenges remain. Implementing telehealth services may also improve the experiences of patients served by other subspecialties or healthcare systems.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.