Exploring EAP Credentialing

No abstract available for this article.     

Practice note

Abstract

Virtual therapy in the online space.     

Telecare as Institutional Interaction: Checking up on the Client and Creating Continuity

This article studies the functions of telecare-mediated discussions in mental health floating support services. Home Screen, the telecare studied, is a touchscreen computer software that enables real-time audiovisual contact between users. The results indicate that Home Screen functions as a medium to discuss and check clients’ current situation and to sum up and plan their goals. The functions of Home Screen are not stable, but instead they are produced and negotiated in the interaction. Portraying Home Screen as a transitional device, this article supports the view that telecare enables clients to remain in their homes while receiving the care needed.     

Psychologist and Physician Interest in Telehealth Training and Referral for Mental Health Services: An Exploratory Study

The current study explored psychological and medical professionals’ interest in videoconferencing telehealth training and mental health telehealth referral. An online survey assessed 782 participants comprised of 669 psychological (45% male, Mean Age = 47.01, SD = 16.82) and 113 medical professionals (58% male, Mean Age = 46.19, SD = 12.40). Z-test analyses indicated that although psychological professionals were statistically more interested in receiving telehealth training, both groups reported some interest. Ranked responses indicated efficacy data, ethical issues, and legal concerns as the most endorsed areas of training interest. Referral concerns were also found. Findings were discussed related to both statistical and clinical significance. Application of findings is discussed related to future work, practice, and program creation. The development of telehealth training programs will provide interested professionals with tools required for practice and may serve as an impetus to increase utilization and/or referral.     

Informed consent comprehension among vulnerable populations in Ecuador: video-delivered vs. in-person standard method

The informed consent comprehension process is key to engaging potential research subject participation. The aim of this study is to compare informed consent comprehension between two methods: standard and video-delivered. We compared the in-person and video-delivered informed consent process in the Familias Unidas intervention. We evaluated comprehension using a 7-item true/false questionnaire. There were a total of 152 participants in the control group and 87 in the experimental. General characteristics were similar between both groups (p > 0.05). First-attempt informed consent comprehension was higher in the intervention group but was not statistically significant (80% and 78% respectively p = 0.44). A video-delivered informed consent process did not differ from the standard method of informed consent in a low educational and socioeconomic environment.     

Evaluation and Implementation of a Telepsychiatry Trial in the Emergency Department of a Metropolitan Public Hospital

Telepsychiatry via video conferencing is not new to mental health but has been expanding at a rapid rate over recent years. Initially it was introduced for treatment in remote and rural communities, but it is now being utilized in larger health settings due to increasing patient demand and cost-effectiveness. Emergency departments are becoming increasingly burdened, as the workforce cannot keep pace with the rising demand of patient mental health needs. While telepsychiatry has been shown to have treatment efficacy, research is still relatively new, especially within the emergency department context.     

Health Promotion using Tablet Technology with Older Adult African American Methadone Clients: A Case Study

This exploratory study examined three single case studies to investigate the feasibility of handheld tablet computers for older adult methadone clients. The intervention targeted African American adults (N = 3) over the age of 50 who were in substance abuse treatment. Subjects participated, via a face-to-face video program, in 12 educational sessions focused on healthy living. Both the feasibility of teaching older adult subjects to use tablet computers and their levels of engagement in the intervention were assessed. In addition, completion of participants’ goals and their ability to remember those goals were tracked weekly. Findings revealed that participants were able to learn how to operate the tablets and enjoyed using the technology. Frequent interactions between the counselors and the participants, using face-to-face video, facilitated success in achieving program goals.     

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Abstract

It would be useful to better understand the personal determinants of successful interventions in the community, especially those interventions already recognized for their efficacy and efficiency, such as elder home care telesurveillance. This is a modality of health care services that transmits, via a call center on a 24/7 basis, the clinical information necessary to follow elders outside medical centers. Community health workers refer elders to this service. A qualitative research design was realized to understand why so much difference in the implementation of this service had arisen in two comparable sites previously judged receptive. The research objectives were as follows: (1) to document the personal determinants associated with telesurveillance adoption by community health workers, in two sites previously judged receptive; and (2) to point out the personal determinants that can explain successful adoption of telesurveillance. According to the Theory of Interpersonal Behavior, the results showed that habits (e.g., community health workers' knowledge of new information technologies) and perceived barriers in clinical practice were fundamental determinants in the adoption of telesurveillance.