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The telehealth satisfaction scale: reliability, validity, and satisfaction with telehealth in a rural memory clinic population
Morgan DG, Kosteniuk J, Stewart N, O'Connell ME, Karunanayake C, Beever R.. Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association, 2014-10-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Introduction Patient satisfaction is a key aspect of quality of care and can inform continuous quality improvement. Of the few studies that have reported on patient satisfaction with telehealth in programs aimed at individuals with memory problems, none has reported on the psychometric properties of the user satisfaction scales used. Materials and methods We evaluated the construct validity and internal consistency reliability of the Telehealth Satisfaction Scale (TeSS), a 10-item scale adapted for use in a rural and remote memory clinic (RRMC). The RRMC is a one-stop interprofessional clinic for rural and remote seniors with suspected dementia, located in a tertiary-care hospital. Telehealth videoconferencing is used for preclinic assessment and for follow-up. Patients and caregivers completed the TeSS after each telehealth appointment. With data from 223 patients, exploratory factor analysis was conducted using the principal components analysis extraction method. Results The eigenvalue for the first factor (5.2) was greater than 1 and much larger than the second eigenvalue (0.92), supporting a one-factor solution that was confirmed by the scree plot. The total variance explained by factor 1 was 52.1%. Factor loadings (range, 0.54-0.84) were above recommended cutoffs. The TeSS items demonstrated high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha=0.90). Satisfaction scores on the TeSS items ranged from 3.43 to 3.72 on a 4-point Likert scale, indicating high satisfaction with telehealth. Conclusions The study findings demonstrate high user satisfaction with telehealth in a rural memory clinic and the sound psychometric properties of the TeSS in this population.
Key findings
- Results The eigenvalue for the first factor (5.2) was greater than 1 and much larger than the second eigenvalue (0.92), supporting a one-factor solution that was confirmed by the scree plot.
- The TeSS items demonstrated high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha=0.90).
Why it matters
This study evaluated the reliability and validity of a telehealth satisfaction scale used in a rural memory clinic and reported on patient and caregiver satisfaction with telehealth appointments. It concerns the quality of remote care delivery and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Participants223
- Effect size52.1%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 41 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 43 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Telemedicine Journal and e-Health: journal h-index 123 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 223 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 130 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 9.3 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 37 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Rob Beever holds only 4 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | University of Saskatchewan: institution h-index 575 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25272141) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 41 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 41 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 43 out of 100. |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Morgan, D. G., Kosteniuk, J., Stewart, N., O'Connell, M. E., Karunanayake, C., & Beever, R. (2014). The telehealth satisfaction scale: reliability, validity, and satisfaction with telehealth in a rural memory clinic population. Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2014.0002
Vancouver
Morgan DG, Kosteniuk J, Stewart N, O'Connell ME, Karunanayake C, Beever R. The telehealth satisfaction scale: reliability, validity, and satisfaction with telehealth in a rural memory clinic population. Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association. 2014. doi:10.1089/tmj.2014.0002. PMID: 25272141.
BibTeX
@article{morgan2014-25272141,
author = {Morgan, D. G. and Kosteniuk, J. and Stewart, N. and O'Connell, M. E. and Karunanayake, C. and Beever, R.},
title = {{The telehealth satisfaction scale: reliability, validity, and satisfaction with telehealth in a rural memory clinic population}},
journal = {Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1089/tmj.2014.0002},
pmid = {25272141},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2014.0002}
}
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