Within the deaf population, an extreme mental health professional shortage exists that may be alleviated with videoconferencing technology – also known as telehealth. Moreover, much needed mental health education within the deaf population remains largely inaccessible. Researchers have forewarned that the deaf population may remain underserved if significant changes do not take place with traditional service delivery methods. The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of telehealth in teaching psychoeducational objectives, with special emphasis given to its application to the deaf population. The results of this study indicate that telehealth can be considered to be an efficacious and cost effective option in delivering health care to the deaf population. Results also indicate participant satisfaction with the technology.

Mental illness affects 18% of American adults and 8.0% of American children. Untreated mental illness can increase mortality, influence treatment of other conditions, and impose unnecessary burdens on individuals, families, and communities. Despite the prevalence and burdens of untreated mental illness, there are still numerous financial, social, and organizational barriers to the availability, utilization and quality of mental health services. In the last two decades, many efforts have been made to improve healthcare access through legal and regulatory overhauls, health insurance reform, electronic health system infrastructure expansion, and development of new models of care. These efforts are perhaps most easily observed through the implementation of telehealth and telemedicine. Telehealth is an umbrella term indicating the use of technology for the provision of healthcare, health administration, and health education while telemedicine is a more specific term referring to the use of technology for the delivery of healthcare across distances. While telemedicine is used in almost all subspecialties, implementation and research are more developed in some specialties than in others. Research on telepsychiatry shows that 1) telepsychiatry can be used to effectively diagnose and treat a variety of mental illnesses in a number of populations in many locations; 2) telepsychiatry has the potential to be a cost effective alternative to treatment as usual for patients, providers, and communities; 3) telemental health can function successfully within the legal and regulatory landscape in United States; 4) the technology for telemental health is already available and continually improving; 5) There are resources available to facilitate the use of telemental health by patients, providers and healthcare organizations. Telepsychiatry has the potential to improve access to mental health services by connecting patients with the right providers, reducing the costs of receiving and providing mental healthcare, lowering social barriers that prevent individuals from seeking and providers from offering care, and facilitating organizational practices and goals. This paper summarizes published data concerning the clinical, financial, legal and regulatory, and technological aspects of telepsychiatry and explores how telepsychiatry might be used to improve the availability, utilization, and quality of mental health services in the United States.

No description available.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The prevalence of mental health disorders in the United States is estimated at 1 in 5 persons in any given year, with a lifetime prevalence of approximately 50% (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016a, 2016b). Despite scientific progress towards effective behavioral and psychopharmacological treatment, nearly 50% of Americans with mental illness do not receive treatment (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2014). This project will identify key geographical and logistical factors restricting recruitment and retention of psychiatric providers (MD or NP) for an underserved region in California. The results of the study will be used to develop a model for effective partnerships aimed at a “grow your own” approach to addressing the shortage of psychiatric providers. In California, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) was approved by the voters as Proposition 63 in 2004, funding expansion of mental health resources and specifically, workforce development (California Department of Health Care Services [DHCS], 2017). National funding also supports the expansion of PMHNP training and capacity through Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) and SAMHSA. Despite administrative and funding resources from MHSA and HRSA, the shortage of psychiatric providers continues in rural and remote areas. While few national studies have included nurse practitioners in the findings, a growing body of evidence suggests that nurse practitioners can serve similar if not the same function as physician colleagues (DiCicco-Bloom & Cunningham, 2014; National Governors Association, 2012; Newhouse et al, 2011). Barriers to mental health services in rural communities include challenges around a) availability, b) accessibility, c) affordability, and d) acceptability (Wilson, Bangs, & Hatting, 2015). Using a descriptive design, this project explores these factors necessary for patient access to psychiatric services in rural areas. A logic model is used to create a summary of the findings, which will be used to propose a clinical training partnership between an urban university-based PMHNP education and a rural clinic-based training to be completed upon conclusion of the project.

No description available.

Den psykiska ohälsan ökar internationellt och även i Sverige, samtidigt rapporteras den psykiatriska vården vara bristfällig på grund av sin låga tillgänglighet. Ett sätt att öka tillgängligheten av vården kan vara genom en smartphone-applikation. Men oavsett hur effektiv en app är, så tillför den ingenting om den inte används. Syftet med denna studie är därmed att utreda attityder till denna typ av digitalisering samt undersöka vilka appfunktioner som skulle möta psykiatripatienters behov. Studien baseras på kvalitativa intervjuer med personer som fått vård vid psykiatrin vid Akademiska sjukhuset i Uppsala och vi analyserar sedan empirimaterialet utifrån det teoretiska ramverket Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Studiens resultat visar på att samtliga av de deltagande psykiatripatienterna har överlag positiva attityder till konceptet att använda appar vid vård av psykisk ohälsa. De positiva attityderna grundar sig dock på förutsättningen att en sådan app ska utgöra ett komplement till den psykiatriska vård som finns idag. Slutligen presenterar studien även att det tyder på att de funktioner som lämpar sig väl för att möta psykiatripatienters behov är sådana som tillgängliggör psykiatrin genom att förmedla information snarare än att erbjuda behandling genom mobilapplikationen. / Mental illness is increasing, both globally and in Sweden. Meanwhile it is reported that the psychiatric care is inadequate because of its low availability. A solution to this problem is to increase the availability of care through a smartphone application. But no matter how effective an app might be, it will not solve anything if it is not used. The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate attitudes towards this kind of digitalization and to examine what kind of app functions that can meet patients needs. The study is based on qualitative interviews with persons that have received care from the psychiatry at Akademiska sjukhuset in Uppsala, Sweden. Furthermore, we analyze the empirical material by using the theoretical framework Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The results show that all of the participating patients generally have positive attitudes towards the concept of using apps for mental health care. Although, these positive attitudes require that a mental health app should be complementary to the psychiatric care available today, not replace it. Finally, the study also suggests that application functions that are well suited to meet the needs of the patients are those who make the mental health care more available by providing information rather than offering treatment through the application.

No description available.

This thesis employs data-mining techniques and modern information and communication technology to develop methods which may improve efficiency of prevention oriented telemedical programs. In particular this thesis uses the ITAREPS program as a case study and demonstrates that an extension of the program based on the proposed methods may significantly improve the program's efficiency. ITAREPS itself is a state of the art telemedical program operating since 2006. It has been deployed in 8 different countries around the world, and solely in the Czech republic it helped prevent schizophrenic relapse in over 400 participating patients. Outcomes of this thesis are widely applicable not just to schizophrenic patients but also to other psychotic or non-psychotic diseases which follow a relapsing path and satisfy certain preconditions defined in this thesis. Two main areas of improvement are proposed. First, this thesis studies various temporal data-mining methods to improve relapse prediction efficiency based on diagnostic data history. Second, latest telecommunication technologies are used in order to improve quality of the gathered diagnostic data directly at the source.