Tele-education in child mental health for rural allied health workers

Abstract

We developed a tele-education programme in child mental health for rural allied health workers. The programme was delivered in two parts, each consisting of six sessions. Videoconferencing at 384 kbit/s was used. Satisfactory retention rates were maintained throughout. Participants consistently reported increases in knowledge and skills as a result of attending the programme. The project resulted in a high rate of reported changes to practice. An unanticipated outcome was the value placed on the opportunities for local networking provided by the project for participants. Videoconferencing can deliver effective professional development to allied health workers in child mental health.

Clinical supervision and education via videoconference: a feasibility project

“…Among the most frequently reported obstacles are time, cost and travel. 3,4 Clearly, alternative methods of providing clinical supervision are required.…”

Practice guidelines for videoconference-based telepsychiatry in South Africa

“…These can be streamed via the internet or transmitted via a number of ways including point-to-point circuits and the public Internet (if transmitting protected health information or other sensitive information via the public internet, AES encryption or a virtual private network (VPN) may be used to secure the transmission). 27 Distance education modalities can be used for clinical care of MHCU, e.g. teaching regarding medications, therapies, or compliance with treatment plans.…”

Masthead

“…Practitioners in rural areas lack easy access to continuing education (Fahey et al 2003). Conferences and other opportunities for professional development are often located in urban centres, requiring rural practitioners to travel great distances at significant expense and time away from their communities.…”

“…It can also decrease their sense of professional isolation, improving the recruitment and retention of these practitioners in rural communities (Fahey et al 2003;Smith et al 2009;White et al 2007) Videoconferencing is one method of delivering educational services to practitioners in their communities. Most commonly, it has been used for delivering seminars, grand rounds and other similar presentations (Fahey et al 2003;Rees et al 2009), although there are reports of its use for clinical supervision of trainees and practitioners (Hilty et al 2004;Xavier et al 2007). Studies have demonstrated that education delivered by videoconference was perceived as relatively equivalent to face-to-face teaching (Whitten et al 1998).…”

“…Studies have demonstrated that education delivered by videoconference was perceived as relatively equivalent to face-to-face teaching (Whitten et al 1998). They also report a high degree of participant satisfaction, gains in knowledge and evidence of practice changes (Fahey et al 2003;Rees et al 2009). As a first step in developing a continuing education program for the staff at our far sites, the TeleLink program initiated a needs-assessment process.…”