Telehealth with the Elderly in Times of Pandemic: Experience of a Multiprofessional Residence

Abstract

Objective: To describe the experience of multiprofessional telehealth with elderly from operating groups in the field of action of the Multiprofessional Residency in Family and Community Health at a Public University of Piauí. Methods: This is a descriptive study, experience report type, referring to telehealth actions carried out by residents, in the categories of Physiotherapy, Nutrition and Psychology, with emphasis on the elderly population. The actions were carried out from April 2020 to March 2021 with elderly people from two Basic Health Units and a Social Living Center in a city in Piauí. Results and Discussion: The challenges of telehealth with the elderly public are diverse and are related to the difficulties of their interactions through technology, but even if they exist, it was observed through this study that the adhesion to teleservices both in telemonitoring and in Online health care services were considered positive as the elderly were available and interested in sharing the proposed practices satisfactorily, serving both prevention and promotion of mental and bodily health. Conclusion: Despite the challenges, the benefits found with the use of telemonitoring and teleconsultation outweigh the initial difficulties. This experience expands the residents' view of the use of these tools with the elderly, in order to expand and improve health outcomes and sensitize residents to act differently from the traditional way.