Research Article
Nooteboom LA*, de Lijster JM,
Abstract
Background: To ensure continuity of care during COVID-19 related restrictions, clinicians in child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) were forced to immediately adapt in-person treatments into telepsychiatry. In this prospective study, we aimed to assess clinicians’ experience with forced telepsychiatry in five specialized CAP centers in the Netherlands. Methods: In mid-March 2020, a survey assessing clinicians’ age, profession, patient population, experience, use, and attitude towards telepsychiatry was distributed among 3570 clinicians from 5 CAP centers in the Netherlands. In total, 1092 clinicians participated, of which 785 fulfilled the minimum requirement of scaling 8 out of 11 statements. Based on the results of these scaled statements, attitude towards telepsychiatry was weighed. Differences in attitude towards telepsychiatry were examined with ANOVA’s and differences between centers with chi-square tests. Results: As a result of COVID-19 related restrictions, a drastic increase in training (three-fold) and use of telepsychiatry (six-fold) among CAP clinicians was observed. Significant differences regarding experience with-, use of-, and attitude towards telepsychiatry have been found between centers. Moreover, attitude towards telepsychiatry differed significantly not only across centers, but also between professions and age categories. Conclusions: As a response to COVID-19 restrictions, many clinicians in CAP adapted in-person treatment-as-usual into telepsychiatry; usually without preparation, previous experience, or training. When implementing telepsychiatry, clinicians’ age, profession and technical resources should be considered. Moreover, clients’ availability and quality of technical resources should be taken into account as well. A longitudinal analysis is needed to study potential effects of increased experience and training on clinicians’ attitudes and concerns towards telepsychiatry for future implementation in blended support.