{
  "abstract": "Background: There is growing interest in virtual care provision to improve patient access to quality care, and while utilisation of virtual care services has increased, an evaluation of this modality of care is lacking.\n\nObjective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate perceptions of a variety of virtual care services offered to children across Ontario throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nMethods: This perception-based evaluation included a cross-sectional study design guided by the Quintuple Aim Framework focused on population health, user experience, provider experience, cost and equity. Data were collected from 44 organisations that provided virtual care to children, 194 service providers with various specialties and 909 parents/caregivers of children who have received virtual care in Ontario. Participants completed unique online questionnaires.\n\nResults: The services provided to children that were reportedly most compatible with a virtual setting, regardless of the participant type, included speech-language pathology, therapy and social work services. The services least compatible with a virtual setting were physiotherapy and autism services. While modifications are required, perceived quality of care is equal to somewhat reduced in a virtual setting, and virtual care is more accessible and circumvents barriers to in-person care. Consequently, a targeted hybrid approach is the preferred future for the provision of care to children in Ontario.\n\nConclusions: Virtual care for children is not one size fits all. A targeted approach to providing care virtually, informed by this report, could optimise the allocation of virtual care resources to ensure its provision remains equitable and cost effective.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Offord Centre for Child Studies; Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada",
    "Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada",
    "Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada",
    "Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada",
    "CanChild Centre for Childhood-onset Disability Research, Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada",
    "Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
    "Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
    "Niagara Children’s Centre, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada",
    "Grandview Kids, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada",
    "Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Elyse Rosa",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6833-7871"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Natalie Easson",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-4668-1118"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kate Jamieson",
      "orcid": "0009-0004-9737-1357"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Patrick McPhee",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5613-9755"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Jean-Eric Tarride",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2913-7580"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Olaf Kraus de Camargo",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7927-7189"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Shauna Kingsnorth",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2051-7221"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Dorothy Harvey",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-5663-6330"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Carolyn Hunt",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-0020-2300"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Stelios Georgiades",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-0676-2929"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ed8m69a9wmzmk.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1136/bmjpo-2026-004492",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13711537/",
  "id": "ed8m69a9wmzmk",
  "issns": [
    "2399-9772"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2026-004492",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "1506"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Health Service"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2739|Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223691763",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13711537",
  "pmid": "42933896",
  "published": "2026-10-26",
  "publisher": "BMJ Publishing Group",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ed8m69a9wmzmk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:22:18Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13711537",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2026-004492"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2739|Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Evaluation of virtual care services offered to children across Ontario, Canada, during the COVID-19 pandemic",
  "title_text": "Evaluation of virtual care services offered to children across Ontario, Canada, during the COVID-19 pandemic",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-31T12:22:18Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ed8m69a9wmzmk",
  "venue": "BMJ Paediatrics Open",
  "versions": []
}