Abstract
BackgroundRemote delivery of psychological interventions to meet growing demand has been increasing worldwide. Telephone-delivered psychological treatment has been shown to be equally effective and as satisfactory to patients as face-to-face treatment. Despite robust research evidence, however, obstacles remain to the acceptance of telephone-delivered treatment in practice. This study aimed to explore those issues using a phenomenological approach from a patient perspective to identify areas for change in current provision through the use of theoretically based acceptability and behaviour change frameworks.MethodsTwenty-eight semi-structured interviews with patients experiencing symptoms of common mental health problems, waiting, receiving or having recently received telephone-delivered psychological treatment via the UK National Health Service’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA).ResultsThe majority of data clustered within five key domains of the TDF (knowledge, skills, cognitive and interpersonal, environmental context and resources, beliefs about capabilities, beliefs about consequences) and mapped to all constructs of the TFA (affective attitude, ethicality, intervention coherence, self-efficacy, burden, opportunity costs, and perceived effectiveness). Themes highlighted that early stages of treatment can be affected by lack of patient knowledge and understanding, reservations about treatment efficacy, and practical obstacles such as absent non-verbal communication, which is deemed important in the development of therapeutic alliance. Yet post-treatment, patients can reflect more positively, and report gaining benefit from treatment. However, despite this, many patients say that if they were to return for future treatment, they would choose to see a practitioner face-to-face.ConclusionsUsing a combination of theoretically underpinned models has allowed the identification of key targets for change. Addressing knowledge deficits to shift attitudes, highlighting the merits of telephone delivered treatment and addressing skills and practical issues may increase acceptability of, and engagement with, telephone-delivered treatment.
Highlights
Remote delivery of psychological interventions to meet growing demand has been increasing worldwide
A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of telephone delivered psychotherapy for depression highlighted adequate treatment adherence, beneficial effects when compared with usual care, and comparative effectiveness to face-to-face treatment [13]
Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the views of patients who had been offered or received psychological treatment for common mental health problems over the telephone in the last 12 months
Summary
Remote delivery of psychological interventions to meet growing demand has been increasing worldwide. Telephone-delivered psychological treatment has been shown to be effective and as satisfactory to patients as face-to-face treatment. With the availability of technology, remote health care (such as treatment over the telephone) improves access for people who struggle to attend face-to-face appointments due to health, financial, time and situational difficulties [5,6,7,8,9] and can increase flexibility, accessibility and perceived anonymity (not being seen in person) [10,11,12]. Patients report high levels of acceptance of telephone delivered psychological interventions [11] and when compared with the same treatment face-to-face, report equal satisfaction [14, 15]
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.