Feasibility and Effectiveness of Telepsychiatry Services for Chinese Immigrants in a Nursing Home

Abstract

This study investigates the feasibility and effectiveness of providing telepsychiatry services to Chinese immigrants in a nursing home. The psychiatrist interviewed patients face-to-face for the initial consultation, and encouraged them to participate in this study to receive telepsychiatry-based follow-up visits. The feasibility and outcomes of telepsychiatry visits and satisfaction of the subjects, their families, and the nursing home staff were assessed. Nine monolingual Chinese immigrants, 8 women and 1 man, ranging from 54 to 88 years of age, were enrolled. The main reasons for psychiatric consultation were mood and behavioral problems. Eight of the 9 (88.9%) subjects participated in videoconference follow-up visits, and 1 subject (11.1%) declined. Among the 8 subjects, 6 were referred for psychiatric intervention, 1 for differential diagnosis, and 1 for suicide assessment. At the end of the study, all 6 subjects referred for intervention had greatly improved; the subjects, their families, and the nursing staff were highly satisfied with the telepsychiatry service. It is feasible to provide psychiatry consultations to ethnic immigrants in a nursing home despite the fact that many of them are unfamiliar with the technology and suffer from dementia and psychotic symptoms. Telepsychiatry provides an efficient way for ethnic elders in nursing homes to connect with mental health professionals with the appropriate language and cultural background, regardless of location. Telepsychiatry may decrease the disparities in treatment of mental illnesses among ethnic immigrants in nursing homes.

Telepsychiatry “Coverage” to a Rural Inpatient Psychiatric Unit

“…There were three patients on the unit at time of turnover and all three consented to the use of telepsychiatric care. The average unit census was seven during the pilot project (range: [3][4][5][6][7][8][9].…”

“…5,6 There is more literature addressing the use of telepsychiatry with nursing home residents. [7][8][9][10] Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) is a regional hospital located in the central eastern shore of Maryland and maintains a 13-bed inpatient mental health unit. Like several other general hospitals in the Maryland region, PRMC subcontracts its unit manager and psychiatrists.…”

Effectiveness and feasibility of telepsychiatry in resource constrained environments? A systematic review of the evidence

“…38 This should include understanding of the health beliefs and practices of the local community and clients from different cultural backgrounds. 17 Telepsychiatry is reported to provide a unique opportunity for psychiatrists to communicate with patients in their mother tongue rather than through interpreters [83][84] , and patients reported a high level of acceptance and satisfaction with transcultural telepsychiatry. 83 However, in a country such as South Africa most psychiatry services require the use of interpreters.…”

The State and Sustainability of Telepsychiatry Programs

“…Research that has used telepsychiatry for older populations has found it to be viewed positively by clinicians, nursing home staff, families, and patients, and to lead to improvements in mental health status. 23,78 Concern about the acceptability of technology among older adults may deter individuals from pursuing videoconferencing-based programs, but research has found that older adults often find the technology to be satisfactory, with almost two-thirds reporting no preference between face-to-face and video-based interactions. 85 Thus, the use of telepsychiatry in elderly populations would be a valuable area for future research.…”