ABSTRACT
Introduction: During the Covid-19 pandemic, patients with mental illness turned out to be one of the most vulnerable groups of the population, since the forced self-isolation regime was a decrease in the availability of psychiatric care. During this period, the use of telemedicine increased to provide timely assistance. Objective(s): To analyze the experience of telecare in program of psychosocial rehabilitation of patients with schizophrenia and their relatives and to evaluate its effectiveness. Method(s): 80 schizophrenia patients in remission of varying quality and 41 relatives participated in rehabilitation program. To assess the effectiveness of telecare, PANSS, SF-36, URICA, PHQ-9, ISI, PSS-10, GAD-7 scales were used. Result(s): Psychosocial interventions through telecare were carried out for 12 months. Patients and relatives participated in video sessions on Zoom and Skype Internet platforms, as well as in instant messengers. Rehabilitation program for patients included psychoeducation, skills training, art-therapy, music therapy, bibliotherapy, psychological counseling. Relatives were provided with psychoeducation and psychological counseling. The analysis showed that the use of telecare contributed to increase in the availability of psychotherapeutic assistance, the participation of patients with low motivation and prompt problem solving. Within the studied period, only 5% of patients (4 persons) developed relapses, two patients (2.5%) were hospitalized. Patients and relatives showed a high level of satisfaction with the care provided, positive dynamics of psychological indicators. Conclusion(s): The effectiveness of psychosocial rehabilitation program through telecare has been proven. The possibility of carrying out various psychosocial interventions in online format has been shown.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: analysis of domestic and foreign literature on the possibilities, features, benefits and limitations of telepsychiatry/ telepsychology. Material and method: the keywords “telepsychiatry, telepsychology, remote psychiatric care, impact of pandemic on mental health, information technology in psychiatry” were used to select publications available in MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of science, eLibrary, Google. Results: literature research has shown that telepsychiatry is a service-enhancing modality that promotes equitable access and high levels of patient satisfaction. The coronavirus pandemic has led to an inevitable increase in the use of this method in the provision of psychiatric as well as psychological services. Telepsychiatry has both clinical and non-clinical applications, e.g. in administration, training and research. A large body of evidence shows that telepsychiatric diagnostic assessments are reliable and that the clinical outcomes of telepsychiatric interventions are comparable to those of traditional treatment among various patient groups, irrespective of age, diagnosis and other variables. However, the evidence base for telepsychiatry/telepsychology is still relatively limited in many aspects of effectiveness, and is often complicated by methodological problems, including technological difficulties, negative opinions and pessimistic perceptions among psychiatrists, and several legal, ethical and administrative barriers. These impede wide implementation of telepsychiatry and its integration into everyday medicine. Conclusion: further advances in remote technology and research will solve many of the problems of telepsychiatry, and its development is likely to consist in the application of telepsychiatry as an adjunct to conventional medicine, and in the development of hybrid models, incorporating both conventional and telepsychiatric forms of psychiatric and psychological care. © 2021, Medicinskoe Informacionnoe agentstvo. All rights reserved.