Mental health professionals and telehealth in a rural setting: a cross sectional survey

BMC Health Services Research

Research

David Nelson¹  Agnes Nanyonjo¹  Maxime Inghels²  Amanda Kenny³  Mark Gussy³  Ojali Yusuff⁴  Steve Skinner⁵  Stephen Wyatt⁵  Jaspreet Phull⁵  Tracy McCranor⁵ 

[1] Lincoln International Institute for Rural Health (LIIRH), University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK;Lincoln International Institute for Rural Health (LIIRH), University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK;Centre Population et Développement (UMR 196 Paris Descartes – IRD), SageSud (ERL INSERM 1244), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France;Lincoln International Institute for Rural Health (LIIRH), University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK;La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Australia;Lincoln International Institute for Rural Health (LIIRH), University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK;Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Lincoln, UK;Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Nottingham, UK;Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Lincoln, UK;

关键词: Telehealth;    Telemedicine;    Psychological therapies;    COVID-19 pandemic;    Rural health;    IAPT;    United Kingdom;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-023-09083-6

 received in 2022-11-14, accepted in 2023-01-18,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundTelehealth usage has been promoted in all settings but has been identified as a panacea to issues of access and equity in the rural context. However, uptake and widespread integration of telehealth across all parts of the health system has been slow, with a myriad of barriers documented, including in rural settings. The crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, saw barriers rapidly overturned with the unprecedented and exponential rise in telehealth usage. The uniqueness of the crisis forced telehealth adoption, but as the urgency stabilises, pandemic learnings must be captured, utilised, and built upon in a post-pandemic world. The aim of this study was to document staff experiences and perceptions of delivering rural psychological therapies via telehealth during the pandemic and to capture learnings for future rural telehealth delivery.MethodsAn online cross-sectional survey that explored mental health professional’s experiences, use, and perceptions of telehealth before and after pandemic-enforced changes to service delivery.ResultsSixty-two respondents completed the questionnaire (response rate 68%). Both the delivery of telehealth via telephone and online video conferencing significantly increased during the pandemic (66% vs 98%, p < .001 for telephone and 10% vs 89%, p < 0.001 for online video). Respondents indicated that client’s access to services and attendance had improved with telehealth use but their attention and focus during sessions and non-verbal communication had been negatively affected. The challenges for older adults, people with learning and sensory disabilities, and residents in remote areas with poorer mobile/internet connectivity were identified. Despite these challenges, none of the respondents indicated a preference to return to fully face-to-face service delivery with most (86%) preferring to deliver psychological therapies fully or mostly via telehealth.ConclusionsThis study addresses three major gaps in knowledge: the experience of delivering local telehealth solutions to address rural mental health needs, the provision of strong rural-specific telehealth recommendations, and the dearth of rural research emanating from the United Kingdom. As the world settles into a living with COVID-19 era, the uniqueness of the rural telehealth context may be forgotten as urban myopia continues to dominate telehealth policy and uptake. It is critical that rural resourcing and digital connectivity are addressed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 5