National telemental health responses to a major bushfire disaster

Reifels, Lennart; Bassilios, Bridget; Pirkis, Jane

doi:10.1258/jtt.2012.110902

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Two COVID-19-specific interventions-telephone and television support [45]-were advantageous for older adults and their caregivers; phone services were beneficial for individuals with substance use or opioid disorder [46]. In general, hotlines or phone-support interventions (including the three developed prior to COVID-19) [47][48][49] helped to expand the population to those with access to a landline or basic phone plan, including those living in transitory circumstances.…”

Section: Populations That Might Benefit From or Be Disadvantaged By Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital Interventions to Support Population Mental Health in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Rapid Review

Strudwick¹,

Sockalingam²,

Kassam³

et al. 2021

JMIR Ment Health

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a number of negative health related consequences, including impacts on mental health. More than 22% of Canadians reported that they had felt depressed in the last week, in response to a December 2020 national survey. Given the need to physically distance during the pandemic, and the increase in demand for mental health services, digital interventions that support mental health and wellness may be beneficial. Objective The purpose of this research was to identify digital interventions that could be used to support the mental health of the Canadian general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objectives were to identify (1) the populations these interventions were developed for, inclusive of exploring areas of equity such as socioeconomic status, sex/gender, race/ethnicity and culture, and relevance to Indigenous peoples and communities; (2) the effect of the interventions; and (3) any barriers or facilitators to the use of the intervention. Methods This study was completed using a Cochrane Rapid Review methodology. A search of Embase, PsycInfo, Medline, and Web of Science, along with Google, Million Short, and popular mobile app libraries, was conducted. Two screeners were involved in applying inclusion criteria using Covidence software. Academic articles and mobile apps identified were screened using the Standard Quality Assessment Criteria for Evaluating Primary Research Papers from a Variety of Fields resource, the American Psychiatric Association App Evaluation Framework, and the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s guidance on app assessment and selection. Results A total of 31 mobile apps and 114 web-based resources (eg, telemedicine, virtual peer support groups, discussion forums, etc) that could be used to support the mental health of the Canadian population during the pandemic were identified. These resources have been listed on a publicly available website along with search tags that may help an individual make a suitable selection. Variability exists in the populations that the interventions were developed for, and little assessment has been done with regard to areas of equity. The effect of the interventions was not reported for all those identified in this synthesis; however, for those that did report the effect, it was shown that they were effective in the context that they were used. A number of barriers and facilitators to using these interventions were identified, such as access, cost, and connectivity. Conclusions A number of digital interventions that could support population mental health in Canada during the global COVID-19 pandemic were identified, indicating that individuals have several options to choose from. These interventions vary in their purpose, approach, design, cost, and targeted user group. While some research and digital interventions addressed equity-related considerations, more research and focused attention should be given to this area.

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Section: Populations That Might Benefit From or Be Disadvantaged By Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital Interventions to Support Population Mental Health in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Rapid Review

Strudwick¹,

Sockalingam²,

Kassam³

et al. 2021

JMIR Ment Health

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“…Since the mid-1980s, there have been major innovations in information and communication technologies, and correspondingly greater adoption of telehealth services in disaster response and recovery. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] These efforts began in the late 1980s when telehealth services were used to support international relief and rescue operations. 3,16 One of these early efforts was Spacebridge to Armenia, the US and former USSR post-disaster response to the devastating December 1988 earthquake in Armenia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Telehealth at the US Department of Veterans Affairs after Hurricane Sandy

et al. 2018

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Background Like other integrated health systems, the US Department of Veterans Affairs has widely implemented telehealth during the past decade to improve access to care for its patient population. During major crises, the US Department of Veterans Affairs has the potential to transition healthcare delivery from traditional care to telecare. This paper identifies the types of Veterans Affairs telehealth services used during Hurricane Sandy (2012), and examines the patient characteristics of those users. Methods This study conducted both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Veterans Affairs administrative and clinical data files were used to illustrate the use of telehealth services 12 months pre- and 12 months post- Hurricane Sandy. In-person interviews with 31 key informants at the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center three-months post- Hurricane Sandy were used to identify major themes related to telecare. Results During the seven-month period of hospital closure at the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center after Hurricane Sandy, in-person patient visits decreased dramatically while telehealth visits increased substantially, suggesting that telecare was used in lieu of in-person care for some vulnerable patients. The most commonly used types of Veterans Affairs telehealth services included primary care, triage, mental health, home health, and ancillary services. Using qualitative analyses, three themes emerged from the interviews regarding the use of Veterans Affairs telecare post- Hurricane Sandy: patient safety, provision of telecare, and patient outreach. Conclusion Telehealth offers the potential to improve post-disaster access to and coordination of care. More information is needed to better understand how telehealth can change the processes and outcomes during disasters. Future studies should also evaluate key elements, such as adequate resources, regulatory and technology issues, workflow integration, provider resistance, diagnostic fidelity and confidentiality, all of which are critical to telehealth success during disasters and other crises.

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“…The studies assessing the acceptability of technology-based interventions measured use versus nonuse for brief interventions and frequency of use in longer-term interventions. Both of the studies highlighting the change in hotline call volume as an indicator of acceptability reported an increase in the utilization of established telephone hotlines from pre- to postcrisis; although neither study used an experimental design, one attributed this increase to the advertisement of the helpline number following the disaster (Beaudoin, 2008), whereas the other attributed it solely to the disaster-related need, with no additional advertising reported (Reifels et al, 2012). The remaining studies used frequency of access or module-completion rate as indices of web- or computer-based intervention acceptability.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing virtual reality for disaster mental health: A systematic review.

Boydstun¹,

Pandita²,

Finkelstein‐Fox³

et al. 2021

Translational Issues in Psychological Science

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Widespread disasters, such as hurricanes, terrorist attacks, and viral outbreaks, represent a unique class of stressors that increase the demand for mental health care but also limit access to services. During the course of COVID-19, an unprecedented global pandemic, the detrimental effects of fear, uncertainty, and social isolation have particularly strained existing structures for psychological care. Virtual reality (VR) represents a promising means to address this still-growing need. Although VR has been applied in medical settings for decades, no existing literature has synthesized the strength of empirical support for VR's acceptability, feasibility, and efficacy in the context of disaster mental health. In an attempt to fill this urgent need, the present systematic review summarizes the findings of 21 diverse studies of VR as a tool for disaster-related psychological resilience training, psychological first aid, or counseling. With an eye toward VR's potential utility to address the incredible need for services created by the COVID-19 pandemic, we offer recommendations for key future directions and methodological considerations in the context of disaster mental health.What is the significance of this article for the general public?This systematic review contributes to a wider understanding of virtual reality and other technological advancements as acceptable, widely applicable enhancements to mental health interventions for community disasters. Virtual reality has great potential to address barriers to treatment highlighted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, including high stress levels, geographic distance from providers, and social isolation.

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National telemental health responses to a major bushfire disaster

Cited by 9 publications

References 16 publications

Digital Interventions to Support Population Mental Health in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Rapid Review

Digital Interventions to Support Population Mental Health in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Rapid Review

Telehealth at the US Department of Veterans Affairs after Hurricane Sandy

Harnessing virtual reality for disaster mental health: A systematic review.

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