Online consultations in mental healthcare during the COVID-19 outbreak: An international survey study on professionals' motivations and perceived barriers

Nele A.J. De Witte; Per Carlbring; Anne Etzelmueller; Tine Nordgreen; Maria Karekla; Lise Haddouk; Angélique Belmont; Svein Øverland; Rudy Abi-Habib; Sylvie Bernaerts; Agostino Brugnera; Angelo Compare; Aranzazu Duque; David Daniel Ebert; Jonas Eimontas; Angelos P. Kassianos; João Salgado; Andreas Schwerdtfeger; Pia Tohme; Eva Van Assche; Tom Van Daele

doi:10.1016/j.invent.2021.100405

Online consultations in mental healthcare during the COVID-19 outbreak: An international survey study on professionals' motivations and perceived barriers

Nele A.J. De Witte
, Per Carlbring^*
, Anne Etzelmueller
, Tine Nordgreen
, Maria Karekla
, Lise Haddouk
, Angélique Belmont
, Svein Øverland
, Rudy Abi-Habib
, Sylvie Bernaerts
, Agostino Brugnera
, Angelo Compare
, Aranzazu Duque
, David Daniel Ebert
, Jonas Eimontas
, Angelos P. Kassianos
, João Salgado
, Andreas Schwerdtfeger
, Pia Tohme
, Eva Van Assche

Tom Van Daele

^*Corresponding author for this work

Clinical Psychology

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Introduction: While the general uptake of e-mental health interventions remained low over the past years, physical distancing and lockdown measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic created a need and demand for online consultations in only a matter of weeks. Objective: This study investigates the uptake of online consultations provided by mental health professionals during lockdown measures in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the participating countries, with a specific focus on professionals' motivations and perceived barriers regarding online consultations. Methods: An online survey on the use of online consultations was set up in March 2020. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) guided the deductive qualitative analysis of the results. Results: In total, 2082 mental health professionals from Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden were included. The results showed a high uptake of online consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic but limited previous training on this topic undergone by mental health professionals. Most professionals reported positive experiences with online consultations, but concerns about the performance of online consultations in a mental health context (e.g., in terms of relational aspects) and practical considerations (e.g., relating to privacy and security of software) appear to be major barriers that hinder implementation. Conclusions: This study provides an overview of the mental health professionals' actual needs and concerns regarding the use of online consultations in order to highlight areas of possible intervention and allow the implementation of necessary governmental, educational, and instrumental support so that online consultations can become a feasible and stable option in mental healthcare.

Original language	English
Article number	100405
Pages (from-to)	1-10
Number of pages	10
Journal	Internet Interventions
Volume	25
Early online date	26 May 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2021.100405
Publication status	Published - Sept 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Funding

The development of the survey was supported by the Project Group on eHealth of the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations. Members of the project group include: Andreas Schwerdtfeger (Austria), Angélique Belmont (Belgium), Tom Van Daele (Belgium), Maria Karekla (Cyprus), Angelos P. Kassianos (Cyprus), Iben Sejerøe-Szatkowski (Denmark), Lise Haddouk (France), David Daniel Ebert (Germany), Christine Knaevelsrud (Germany), Angelo Compare (Italy), Glauco Trebbi (Luxembourg), Tine Nordgreen (Norway), Svein Øverland (Norway), João Salgado (Portugal), Jan Zaskalan (Slovakia), David Gosar (Slovenia), Per Carlbring (Sweden), Christopher Schütz (Switzerland), Aslı Çarkoğlu (Turkey), Kotryna Danieleviciute (EFPSA). The authors furthermore want to acknowledge the following colleagues and organizations: for her aid with the coding of the German data, Annika Montag; for their aid in the translation and dissemination of the survey, Juanjo Martí Noguera (CiberSalud), Vitalina Ustenko and Oleh Burlachuk (National Psychological Association Ukraine), Anna Leybina (Russian Psychological Society), David Gosar, Beti Kovač, and Sara Seršen (Slovenian Psychologists' Association), the Associazione Italiana di Psicologia, the Bulgarian Psychological Society, the Ordine degli Psicologi della Lombardia and the Consiglio Nazionale dell'Ordine degli Psicologi.

Funders
Angelo Compare
Angelos P. Kassianos
Angélique Belmont
Associazione Italiana di Psicologia
Bulgarian Psychological Society
Consiglio Nazionale dell'Ordine degli Psicologi
Glauco Trebbi (Luxembourg), Tine Nordgreen (Norway), Svein Øverland
Iben Sejerøe-Szatkowski
João Salgado
Lise Haddouk
Maria Karekla
Ordine degli Psicologi della Lombardia
Russian Psychological Society
Sara Seršen
Slovenian Psychologists' Association
Vitalina Ustenko and Oleh Burlachuk

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

COVID-19
Digital interventions
e-Mental health
Implementation
Online consultations
Telepsychology

Access to Document

10.1016/j.invent.2021.100405

Persistent URL (handle)

Persistent link

Cite this

De Witte, N. A. J., Carlbring, P., Etzelmueller, A., Nordgreen, T., Karekla, M., Haddouk, L., Belmont, A., Øverland, S., Abi-Habib, R., Bernaerts, S., Brugnera, A., Compare, A., Duque, A., Ebert, D. D., Eimontas, J., Kassianos, A. P., Salgado, J., Schwerdtfeger, A., Tohme, P., ... Van Daele, T. (2021). Online consultations in mental healthcare during the COVID-19 outbreak: An international survey study on professionals' motivations and perceived barriers. Internet Interventions, 25, 1-10. Article 100405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2021.100405

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abstract = "Introduction: While the general uptake of e-mental health interventions remained low over the past years, physical distancing and lockdown measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic created a need and demand for online consultations in only a matter of weeks. Objective: This study investigates the uptake of online consultations provided by mental health professionals during lockdown measures in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the participating countries, with a specific focus on professionals' motivations and perceived barriers regarding online consultations. Methods: An online survey on the use of online consultations was set up in March 2020. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) guided the deductive qualitative analysis of the results. Results: In total, 2082 mental health professionals from Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden were included. The results showed a high uptake of online consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic but limited previous training on this topic undergone by mental health professionals. Most professionals reported positive experiences with online consultations, but concerns about the performance of online consultations in a mental health context (e.g., in terms of relational aspects) and practical considerations (e.g., relating to privacy and security of software) appear to be major barriers that hinder implementation. Conclusions: This study provides an overview of the mental health professionals' actual needs and concerns regarding the use of online consultations in order to highlight areas of possible intervention and allow the implementation of necessary governmental, educational, and instrumental support so that online consultations can become a feasible and stable option in mental healthcare.",

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year = "2021",

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doi = "10.1016/j.invent.2021.100405",

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De Witte, NAJ, Carlbring, P, Etzelmueller, A, Nordgreen, T, Karekla, M, Haddouk, L, Belmont, A, Øverland, S, Abi-Habib, R, Bernaerts, S, Brugnera, A, Compare, A, Duque, A, Ebert, DD, Eimontas, J, Kassianos, AP, Salgado, J, Schwerdtfeger, A, Tohme, P, Van Assche, E & Van Daele, T 2021, 'Online consultations in mental healthcare during the COVID-19 outbreak: An international survey study on professionals' motivations and perceived barriers', Internet Interventions, vol. 25, 100405, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2021.100405

TY - JOUR

T1 - Online consultations in mental healthcare during the COVID-19 outbreak

T2 - An international survey study on professionals' motivations and perceived barriers

AU - De Witte, Nele A.J.

AU - Carlbring, Per

AU - Etzelmueller, Anne

AU - Nordgreen, Tine

AU - Karekla, Maria

AU - Haddouk, Lise

AU - Belmont, Angélique

AU - Øverland, Svein

AU - Abi-Habib, Rudy

AU - Bernaerts, Sylvie

AU - Brugnera, Agostino

AU - Compare, Angelo

AU - Duque, Aranzazu

AU - Ebert, David Daniel

AU - Eimontas, Jonas

AU - Kassianos, Angelos P.

AU - Salgado, João

AU - Schwerdtfeger, Andreas

AU - Tohme, Pia

AU - Van Assche, Eva

AU - Van Daele, Tom

PY - 2021/9

Y1 - 2021/9

N2 - Introduction: While the general uptake of e-mental health interventions remained low over the past years, physical distancing and lockdown measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic created a need and demand for online consultations in only a matter of weeks. Objective: This study investigates the uptake of online consultations provided by mental health professionals during lockdown measures in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the participating countries, with a specific focus on professionals' motivations and perceived barriers regarding online consultations. Methods: An online survey on the use of online consultations was set up in March 2020. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) guided the deductive qualitative analysis of the results. Results: In total, 2082 mental health professionals from Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden were included. The results showed a high uptake of online consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic but limited previous training on this topic undergone by mental health professionals. Most professionals reported positive experiences with online consultations, but concerns about the performance of online consultations in a mental health context (e.g., in terms of relational aspects) and practical considerations (e.g., relating to privacy and security of software) appear to be major barriers that hinder implementation. Conclusions: This study provides an overview of the mental health professionals' actual needs and concerns regarding the use of online consultations in order to highlight areas of possible intervention and allow the implementation of necessary governmental, educational, and instrumental support so that online consultations can become a feasible and stable option in mental healthcare.

AB - Introduction: While the general uptake of e-mental health interventions remained low over the past years, physical distancing and lockdown measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic created a need and demand for online consultations in only a matter of weeks. Objective: This study investigates the uptake of online consultations provided by mental health professionals during lockdown measures in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the participating countries, with a specific focus on professionals' motivations and perceived barriers regarding online consultations. Methods: An online survey on the use of online consultations was set up in March 2020. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) guided the deductive qualitative analysis of the results. Results: In total, 2082 mental health professionals from Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden were included. The results showed a high uptake of online consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic but limited previous training on this topic undergone by mental health professionals. Most professionals reported positive experiences with online consultations, but concerns about the performance of online consultations in a mental health context (e.g., in terms of relational aspects) and practical considerations (e.g., relating to privacy and security of software) appear to be major barriers that hinder implementation. Conclusions: This study provides an overview of the mental health professionals' actual needs and concerns regarding the use of online consultations in order to highlight areas of possible intervention and allow the implementation of necessary governmental, educational, and instrumental support so that online consultations can become a feasible and stable option in mental healthcare.

KW - COVID-19

KW - Digital interventions

KW - e-Mental health

KW - Implementation

KW - Online consultations

KW - Telepsychology

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ER -

Online consultations in mental healthcare during the COVID-19 outbreak: An international survey study on professionals' motivations and perceived barriers

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Persistent URL (handle)

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Cite this