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Telepsychiatry in the Arab World: A Viewpoint Before and During COVID-19.
El Hayek, Samer; Nofal, Marwa; Abdelrahman, Doaa; Adra, Ali; Al Harthi, Mansour; Al Shamli, Siham; AlNuaimi, Nawaf; Bensid, Lynda; Cheaito, Mohamad Ali; Emberish, Alkhansa Mahdi; Larnaout, Amine; Radwan, Ahmed; Slaih, Mohammad; Kobeissy, Firas; Bizri, Maya.
  • El Hayek S; Department of Psychiatry, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • Nofal M; Helwan Mental Health Hospital, Cairo, Egypt.
  • Abdelrahman D; The Sudan Medical Specialization Board, Khartoum, Sudan.
  • Adra A; Department of Psychiatry, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
  • Al Harthi M; Department of Psychiatry, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Al Shamli S; Oman Medical Specialty Board, Psychiatry Program, Muscat, Sultanet of Oman.
  • AlNuaimi N; Psychiatric Department, Al Ain Hospital, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
  • Bensid L; Department a, University of Algiers, Drid Hocine Hospital Specialized in Psychiatry, Algiers, Algeria.
  • Cheaito MA; Department of Emergency Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • Emberish AM; Alrazi Hospital for Mental Health, Tripoli, Libya.
  • Larnaout A; Psychiatry Department D, Razi Hospital, Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia.
  • Radwan A; Mental Health Service, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
  • Slaih M; National Center for Mental Health, Ministry of Health, Amman, Jordan.
  • Kobeissy F; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • Bizri M; Department of Psychiatry, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat ; 16: 2805-2815, 2020.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1011322
ABSTRACT

PURPOSE:

Telepsychiatry, a subset of telemedicine, has been increasingly studied to meet the growing demands for psychiatric care. The utility of telepsychiatry is relevant now more than ever as the world endures the COVID-19 global pandemic. This paper describes the prior state and the changes that the COVID-19 outbreak brought to telepsychiatry in a selected group of Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. PATIENTS AND

METHODS:

We invited twelve early-career psychiatrists from different Arab nations to share information related to telepsychiatry in their respective countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The information was collected using a semi-structured guide. This was complemented by a search for relevant articles in five search engines using terms such as "COVID-19," "telepsychiatry," and "Arab world".

RESULTS:

Before the pandemic, digital mental health services were provided in several Arab countries, mainly through hotlines and messaging services. The COVID-19 pandemic has marked a major shift in digital psychiatric services in the Arab MENA world, through the transformation of many clinics and some hospitals into digital mental health systems. Many non-governmental organizations also started remote initiatives for psychological support and psychiatric counseling. Three main barriers of patient-related, healthcare-related, and system-related hurdles of using telepsychiatry emanated from the analysis.

CONCLUSION:

The use of digital mental health services varies between different Arab countries. Even though some nations have laws that regulate the provision of such services, most struggle with multifactorial barriers. As affordable and attainable solutions cannot only rely on training and recruiting more psychiatrists, telepsychiatry would help meet the exceeding demands in the Arab world, particularly after the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Language: English Journal: Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat Year: 2020 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Ndt.S277224

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Language: English Journal: Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat Year: 2020 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Ndt.S277224