Implementing online and mental healthcare interventions in home care
This report by the Policy Research Center Welfare, Health, and Family, written in Dutch, describes the possibilities and challenges for implementing online interventions and mental healthcare in home care, providing practical guidelines for home nurses and care professionals.
Summary
Flanders is expected to see a sharp increase in the number of older adults over the coming decade, which will significantly raise the number of chronically ill patients. It is therefore important to anticipate this increased pressure on our healthcare system and the higher costs that will accompany it. Technological progress offers several opportunities in this regard. In mental healthcare, online support for psychological problems is a pathway that is gaining increasing interest. In addition to e-mental health, there is also growing attention to the roles healthcare professionals can take on within mental healthcare. This study specifically focuses on the role of home nurses in this process.
The first objective is to map out their attitudes toward depression, a common psychological disorder among chronically ill patients and their informal caregivers. The second objective is to evaluate whether a minimal intervention can contribute to the competencies and attitudes of home nurses in dealing with depression.
The results showed that the minimal intervention had only a limited effect on the attitudes and perceived competencies of home nurses. However, they did succeed in detecting significantly more patients with depressive symptoms. The researchers concluded that several basic conditions must be fulfilled in order to successfully implement e-mental health and mental health interventions in home care. These include creating room within the responsibilities of home nurses for preventive actions, ensuring quality guarantees for interventions, and promoting knowledge development among professionals.
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Reference
Van Daele, T., Vansteenwegen, D., Hermans, D., Van Audenhove, C., Van den Bergh, O. (2013). Implementeren van online en GGZ-interventies in de thuiszorg. Leuven: Steunpunt Welzijn, Volksgezondheid en Gezin.