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
. 2024 Jun 14;24(1):729.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11157-y.

Videoconferencing in mental health services for children and adolescents receiving child welfare services: a scoping review

Marian Ådnanes  1 , Jannike Kaasbøll  2 , Silje L Kaspersen  3 , Vibeke Krane  4
Affiliations

Videoconferencing in mental health services for children and adolescents receiving child welfare services: a scoping review

Marian Ådnanes et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: Videoconferencing is considered an alternative to face-to-face consultations and a possibility to help overcome access-to-care barriers in mental health care services. Barriers to child and adolescent mental health services are particularly apparent in the case of children and adolescents receiving child welfare services. This scoping review aims to provide an overview of research on videoconferencing in the mental health treatment of children and adolescents receiving support from child welfare services.

Methods: This scoping review follows the review framework outlined by the Joanna Briggs Institute. The following databases were searched from January 2012 to April 2024: Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO (Ovid), CINAHL Plus, Social Services Abstracts (ProQuest), Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest), and Google Scholar.

Results: The search yielded 4322 unique records and resulted in the inclusion of 22 articles that met the inclusion criteria. The studies originated from Denmark, England, Australia, Norway, Canada, Chile, and the USA, and were grouped into four areas: (1) videoconferencing to increase access to mental health treatment for vulnerable groups (2) young people's perspectives (3) videoconferencing in interdisciplinary collaborative meetings, and (4) use, awareness, and acceptance of videoconferencing among health and social care providers.

Conclusions: This scoping review shows that if videoconferencing in mental health care is to become an established and trusted method aimed at children and adolescents receiving child welfare services, several unresolved and potentially negative issues need attention and more research. This particularly applies to whether videoconferencing decreases or exacerbates inequalities in access to mental health services. A further question is whether new barriers are raised by screen-based treatment to threaten good therapeutic relationships, and by extension treatment quality and clinical outcomes.

Keywords: Child and adolescent mental health services; Child welfare service; Interdisciplinary meetings; Treatment; Video consultation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of identified peer-reviewed empirical literature
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Duncan AB, Velasquez SE, Nelson E-L. Using Videoconferencing to Provide Psychological Services to Rural Children and Adolescents: A Review and Case Example. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2014;43(1):115–127. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2013.836452. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Boydell KM, Hodgins M, Pignatiello A, Teshima J, Edwards H, Willis D. Using technology to deliver mental health services to children and youth: a scoping review. J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2014;23(2):87–99. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chakrabarti S. Usefulness of telepsychiatry: A critical evaluation of videoconferencing-based approaches. World J Psychiatry. 2015;5(3):286–304. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v5.i3.286. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ignatowicz A, Atherton H, Bernstein CJ, Bryce C, Court R, Sturt J, Griffiths F. Internet videoconferencing for patient–clinician consultations in long-term conditions: a review of reviews and applications in line with guidelines and recommendations. DIGITAL HEALTH. 2019;5:2055207619845831. doi: 10.1177/2055207619845831. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pesämaa L, Ebeling H, Kuusimäki M-L, Winblad I, Isohanni M, Moilanen I. Videoconferencing in child and adolescent telepsychiatry: a systematic review of the literature. J Telemed Telecare. 2004;10(4):187–192. doi: 10.1258/1357633041424458. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources