A qualitative approach to community and provider needs assessment in a telehealth project.

Objective: Needs assessment is a critical part of the design and implementation of telehealth projects. This study assessed the need for a telehealth link between a local community and a tertiary-care medical center.

Methods: The assessment was conducted using multiple focus groups in a remote community and at a tertiary-care pediatric and women's medical center. Participants were physicians and allied health professionals at both sites and the parents of pediatric patients. Data were analyzed for comment categories and thematic items.

Results: The focus groups revealed a number of important positive and negative attitudes regarding telehealth and priorities for implementation. Uncertainty and trust were two themes that emerged from all groups. The resulting design of the telehealth program incorporated these responses.

Conclusion: Qualitative methods, including focus groups, can yield useful data on complex behavior and explore attitudes toward new and unfamiliar technology.