Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Mar;8(3):1216-1221.
doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_324_18.

Identifying and validating requirements of telemental health services for Iranian veterans

Reza Safdari  1 , Maryam Ahmadi  2 , Kambiz Bahaadinbeigy  3 , Jebraeil Farzi  4 , Tayebeh Noori  1 , Esmaeil Mehraeen  5
Affiliations

Identifying and validating requirements of telemental health services for Iranian veterans

Reza Safdari et al. J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 Mar.

Abstract

Background: The ability of timely access to mental health care is very important for combat veterans that are facing many barriers such as living in rural and remote areas and the lack of integration. Telemental health services improve the veterans' health situation by providing mental health care from a distance. We aimed to identify the telemental health service requirements for Iranian veterans and validate them from the perspective of the statistical population.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018. In the first phase, a review was conducted in relevant databases, such as PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, Ebsco, and Web of Science. In the second phase, veterans, mental health providers, and telemedicine experts were consulted to validating of the identified telemental health service requirements by a researcher-made questionnaire. Analysis of collecting data was done using SPSS software.

Results: By full-text reviewing of 15 related articles, the identified elements were justified in 2 main categories and 24 subcategories including telemental health services (17 items) and telemental health requirements (7 items). According to the findings, the highest score was related to "save health-care costs" (4.47) and "reduce transportation-related problems" (4.47). Moreover, the "feasible alternative to face-to-face care" (2.22) obtained the lowest score from the perspective of the statistical population.

Conclusion: Due to the importance of accessibility and patient-based mental health services, more studies are needed to investigate the point of views of patients and specialists to better understand the concerns and barriers to the implementation and use of telemental health services.

Keywords: Requirement; telemedicine; telemental health; telepsychiatry; veteran.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Search results from different databases
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Luxton DD, Pruitt LD, O’Brien K, Stanfill K, Jenkins-Guarnieri MA, Johnson K, et al. Design and methodology of a randomized clinical trial of home-based Telemental health treatment for U.S. military personnel and veterans with depression. Contemp Clin Trials. 2014;38:134–44. - PubMed
    1. Acierno R, Gros DF, Ruggiero KJ, Hernandez-Tejada BM, Knapp RG, Lejuez CW, et al. Behavioral activation and therapeutic exposure for posttaumatic stress disorder: A noninferiority trial of treatment delivered in person versus home based telehealth. Depress Anxiety. 2016;33:415–23. - PubMed
    1. Whealin JM, King L, Shore P, Spira JL. Diverse veterans’ pre- and post-intervention perceptions of home Telemental health for posttraumatic stress disorder delivered via tablet. Int J Psychiatry Med. 2017;52:3–20. - PubMed
    1. Vafaei T, Khosravi S, Moein L. The comparison between communication patterns of devotee spouses and normal person's spouses. Iran J War Public Health. 2009;2:20–6.
    1. Grubbs KM, Fortney JC, Dean T, Williams JS, Godleski L. A comparison of mental health diagnoses treated via interactive video and face to face in the veterans’ healthcare administration. Telemed J E Health. 2015;21:564–6. - PubMed