Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Speech-Language Pathology Tele-Practice for Pediatric Populations: A Systematic Review

Tele-medicine or tele-practice has been in use for almost a century as a way to connect clients and patients with the necessary professionals (Strehle & Shabde, 2006). The use of tele-practice has been identified as a way for allied health professionals, including speech-language pathologists, to provide equitable services to individuals residing in rural communities or those who may be unable to attend appointments due to other barriers (Dew et al., 2013). In speech-language pathology, a wide variety of both positive and negative opinions from clinicians and caregivers have been identified on the acceptability of tele-practice for delivering SLP services (Lincoln et al., 2014; May & Erickson, 2014). The perceptions of these stakeholders (parents, clinicians, teachers, administrators) is especially important to understand, as their acceptance of this practice is essential to its successful implementation. Further, during the COVID-19 pandemic, SLPs internationally have been unable to meet with clients face-to-face, requiring tele-practice to provide services. As such, studying the use of tele-practice has become more relevant than ever before. Due to the likely dramatic increase in tele-practice and the need to better understand stakeholders’ perceptions of tele-practice, this study sought to explore parents’, clinicians’, and other stakeholders’ opinions on the feasibility and implementation of speech-language pathology tele-practice for pediatric populations via a systematic review of the published literature. Research Question: Regarding speech-language pathology for pediatric populations, what are parents and clinicians’ opinions on the feasibility of tele-practice service delivery