Zhida Shang1, Antonia Arnaert2, Yvonne Hindle3, Zoumanan Debe3, Geneviève Côté-Leblanc3, Amine Saadi3. 1. Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada. zhida.shang@mail.mcgill.ca. 2. Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada. 3. Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et Services Sociaux de l'Ouest-de-L'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Due to regional, professional, and resource limitations, access to mental health care for Canada's Indigenous peoples can be difficult. Telemental health (TMH) offers the opportunity to provide care across vast distances and has been proven to be as effective as face-to-face services. To our knowledge, there has been no qualitative study exploring the experiences of TMH staff serving the Indigenous peoples in Northern Quebec, Canada; which is the purpose of this study. METHODS: Using a qualitative descriptive design, the entire staff of a TMH clinic was recruited, comprising of four psychiatrists and four support staff. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted through videoconferencing, and results were thematically analyzed. RESULTS: To address the mental health gap in Northern communities, all psychiatrists believe in the necessity of in-person care and note the synergistic effect of combining in-person care and TMH services. This approach to care allows psychiatrists to maintain both an insider and outsider identity. However, if a patient's condition requires hospitalization, then the TMH staff face a new set of information sharing and communication challenges with the inpatient staff. TMH staff believe that the provision of culturally sensitive care to Northern patients at the inpatient unit is progressing; however, more work needs to be done. Despite the strong collegial atmosphere within the clinic and collective efforts to provide quality TMH services, all participants express a sense of frustration with the paper-based and scattered documentation system. CONCLUSION: The TMH team works in cohesion to offer TMH services to Indigenous peoples; yet, automatization is needed to improve the workflow efficiency within the clinic and collaboration with the Northern clinics. More research is needed on the functioning of TMH teams and the separate but important roles of each team member.
BACKGROUND: Due to regional, professional, and resource limitations, access to mental health care for Canada's Indigenous peoples can be difficult. Telemental health (TMH) offers the opportunity to provide care across vast distances and has been proven to be as effective as face-to-face services. To our knowledge, there has been no qualitative study exploring the experiences of TMH staff serving the Indigenous peoples in Northern Quebec, Canada; which is the purpose of this study. METHODS: Using a qualitative descriptive design, the entire staff of a TMH clinic was recruited, comprising of four psychiatrists and four support staff. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted through videoconferencing, and results were thematically analyzed. RESULTS: To address the mental health gap in Northern communities, all psychiatrists believe in the necessity of in-person care and note the synergistic effect of combining in-person care and TMH services. This approach to care allows psychiatrists to maintain both an insider and outsider identity. However, if a patient's condition requires hospitalization, then the TMH staff face a new set of information sharing and communication challenges with the inpatient staff. TMH staff believe that the provision of culturally sensitive care to Northern patients at the inpatient unit is progressing; however, more work needs to be done. Despite the strong collegial atmosphere within the clinic and collective efforts to provide quality TMH services, all participants express a sense of frustration with the paper-based and scattered documentation system. CONCLUSION: The TMH team works in cohesion to offer TMH services to Indigenous peoples; yet, automatization is needed to improve the workflow efficiency within the clinic and collaboration with the Northern clinics. More research is needed on the functioning of TMH teams and the separate but important roles of each team member.
Authors: Dena S Puskin; Zohara Cohen; A Stewart Ferguson; Elizabeth Krupinski; Ryan Spaulding Journal: Telemed J E Health Date: 2010 Jan-Feb Impact factor: 3.536
Authors: Kate Jongbloed; Margo E Pearce; Vicky Thomas; Richa Sharma; Sherri Pooyak; Lou Demerais; Richard T Lester; Martin T Schechter; Patricia M Spittal Journal: JMIR Mhealth Uhealth Date: 2020-07-27 Impact factor: 4.773