1057 A Tale of Two Languages: Evaluating Caregiver Satisfaction with Telemedicine in a Pediatric Sleep Medicine Clinic

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the ability need of telemedicine to provide comprehensive and quality care to patients remotely. Sleep medicine has been one of the subspecialties that has seamlessly integrated telehealth into its practice. However telehealth may hinder access to care and disproportionately impact vulnerable populations. owing to a growing body of research that supports its efficacy in diagnosing and managing sleep disorders. Although studies have established the similarity in quality of care between telemedicine and traditional in-person visits, there still exists a gap in our understanding of caregiver satisfaction, especially among Spanish-speaking caregivers. This study aims to assess the experiences of English and Spanish- speaking caregivers who received telemedicine services in our pediatric sleep clinic. Methods This was a cross-sectional anonymous one-time survey performed at the pediatric sleep clinic at University of California (UCSF) Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. The survey included caregivers who spoke English or Spanish and whose child had a sleep medicine appointment over Zoom. Responses were collected using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap), and descriptive analyses were conducted. Results 34 participants completed this survey. 71% (n=24) were English speaking and 29% (n=10) were Spanish speaking. Among Spanish-speaking participants (n=10), 60% were satisfied compared to 92% (n=22) of English-speaking participants. The main reasons cited were decreased time missing school or work and decreased travel time. Of those who were Spanish speaking, 40% (n=4) were dissatisfied with telehealth in comparison to 8% (n=2) of English-speaking participants. The main reasons for dissatisfaction included connectivity issues and preference for in-person appointments. Spanish-speaking participants experienced more difficulties with Zoom, such as receiving the wrong Zoom ID, not receiving instructions beforehand, and not knowing who to call for help. Conclusion Our study suggests that while the majority of families are satisfied with telemedicine and are interested in continuing with a hybrid model of in-person and telehealth visits in the future, Spanish-speaking families were less satisfied with telemedicine than English-speaking families. Having knowledgeable and supportive staff to troubleshoot problems with connectivity, access to interpreters, and offering at least one in-person appointment can improve satisfaction with telemedicine for Spanish-speaking patients. Support (if any)