VA psychologists’ professional practices and attitudes toward tele-neuropsychology among a tele-neuropsychology interest group within the Veterans Health Administration

Abstract

Objective

To provide understanding of practices and attitudes toward tele-neuropsychology (teleNP) among Veterans Health Administration (VA) psychologists who have joined a related community of practice.

Methods

Several VA psychologists (the authors) developed this survey to better understand dissemination of teleNP and attitudes toward teleNP among those involved in a VA teleNP community of practice. We contacted VA psychologists within this group to complete the survey. The survey was open from July to August 2021, during which time a total of 62 VA psychologists participated.

Results

Response rate was estimated to be 41% of those receiving the survey (62 respondents). Approximately two thirds of those completing the survey reported current practice of teleNP (68%; n = 42). In contrast, only 25% of the entire sample (n = 15) conducted any teleNP pre-pandemic. Job satisfaction related to being able to perform teleNP is high. Support for continued and increased use of teleNP is high, with most respondents (84%) indicating they will be at least somewhat likely to practice teleNP post-pandemic.

Conclusions

The survey provides increased support for the use of teleNP by VA psychologists who responded to the survey, with significantly increased adoption since the Covid-19 pandemic, and greater likelihood of intention to use teleNP post pandemic.

Keywords:

• Neuropsychology
• telemedicine
• survey
• United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Acknowledgements

The first author would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr. Karen Postal for her correspondence around advocacy for ethnic minority access to teleNP. We also gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the VA psychologist respondents who took the survey.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).