Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic response has led to an exponential increase in the use and spread of telemedicine internationally. In community mental health care settings, telemedicine services were implemented within a few weeks, with little time for rigorous planning. Despite the reported acceptability of telemedicine by patients and clinicians, barriers to its implementation have come to light. There is now a need to investigate these barriers, and facilitators, as telemedicine begins to show potential promise beyond the pandemic. We propose a review that aims to identify the factors affecting the implementation of telemedicine consultations for patients with mental health conditions in the community. Methods: A systematic review will be conducted and reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. Five electronic databases will be searched using a pre-defined search strategy from 2016 to 2021. Only studies of synchronous, interactive telemedicine consultations conducted via video, phone or live messaging between patients and providers will be included. Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies will be eligible for inclusion. Only studies published in the English language will be included. Titles and abstracts will be screened by two reviewers. Full text articles will be screened by a single reviewer, with a random 20% sample screened by a second reviewer. The methodological quality of studies will be assessed using the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT) by two reviewers. Data will be extracted and tabulated to address the aims of the review. A narrative synthesis will be conducted and reported factors will be mapped to the domains of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Conclusion: By identifying the factors that influence the implementation of telemedicine consultations for patients with mental conditions in the community, consideration can be given to both barriers and facilitators that could be addressed in future mental health services planning. PROSPERO registration: CRD42021273422 (04/10/2021).
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic response caused swift, unprecedented changes in the delivery of healthcare
Consideration can be given to solutions that address these factors by stakeholders involved in mental health services planning
The primary aim of this review is to identify, summarise and interpret the key factors affecting the implementation of telemedicine consultations for patients with mental health conditions in the community
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic response caused swift, unprecedented changes in the delivery of healthcare One such change was the rapid and widespread expansion of telemedicine services to comply with social distancing policies and reduce the spread of the virus[1,2]. Telemedicine allowed for the continued and essential access to mental health services during the pandemic. This use of telemedicine in mental health care is often referred to as telepsychiatry, or telemental health, and is defined as the use of telecommunication for the provision or support of psychiatric services over a distance[5].
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