Abstract:
Abstract
Introduction: Health systems around the world are struggling with the massive
numbers of people with mental disorders. The treatment gap for mental disorders is
high all over the world, with between 76% and 85% of people in low- and middleincome
countries
with
severe
mental
disorders
receiving
no
treatment
for
their
mental
health
conditions.
Telepsychiatry
is
used
as
an
alternative
solution
to
the
problem
of
limited
mental
health
services and effective telepsychiatry use may be achievable if
mental healthcare providers have good knowledge and attitude towards it.
Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitude of mental healthcare providers
towards telepsychiatry service and associated factors at public referral hospitals in
Addis Ababa city, Ethiopia, 2022.
Method: A Multicenter institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among
413 mental health professionals working in public referral hospitals in Addis Ababa
city, from May 04 to June 10, 2022. Data were collected by using a structured and
self-administered questionnaire prepared by reviewing previous related studies. Epi
Data version 3.1 and Stata version 14 were used for data entry and analysis
respectively. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to
identify factors associated with knowledge and attitudes towards telepsychiatry
services. A statistical significance was declared at p-value< 0.05 and 95% CI.
Result: A total of 413 Participants were enrolled with a response rate of 91.8%. The
majority of respondents 230 (55.69%) were male and the mean age of participants
was 29 years (SD + 5.02). The prevalence of good Knowledge and attitude towards
telepsychiatry services were, 41% [95% CI (37%, 47%)] and 14% [95% CI (11%,
17%)] respectively. Being female [AOR: 0.34; 95% CI (0.15, 0.76)], poor IT support
[AOR = 0.32, 95% CI (0.11, 0.99)], and e-Health technology experience [AOR: 1.21;
95% CI (1.1, 2.44)] were significantly associated with knowledge of telepsychiatry
services. Similarly, having electronic health technology experience [AOR 16.79; 95%
CI (4.26, 29.3)], lack of training in telemedicine applications [(AOR 0.1; 95% CI (0.01,
0.41)] and having good knowledge of telepsychiatry services [AOR 6.89; 95%CI (1.8,
12.0)] were significantly associated with attitude towards telepsychiatry services. Conclusion: This study found that mental healthcare providers generally had poor
knowledge and poor attitude regarding telepsychiatry services. In this study, Gender,
IT support, experience in e-Health technology tools and Internet use for health
information access were significantly associated with the knowledge of telepsychiatry
services. Whereas good computer uses for daily work activities, eHealth technology
experiences, perceptions towards e-health technologies, e-Health technology
awareness programs, training in telemedicine applications, and knowledge of
telepsychiatry services were found to be associated with attitude toward telepsychiatry
services.
Keywords: Mental health care providers, knowledge and attitude, telepsychiatry
services.
