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European Journal of Applied Sciences – Vol. 11, No. 1
Publication Date: February 25, 2023
DOI:10.14738/aivp.111.14534.
Alherz, A., Almousa, D. A., Aldossary, R. A., Alali, Z. H., Alshabib, M. H., & Mousa, O. (2023). University Students' Perceptions and
Attitudes Towards Telemental Health Clinics: The Future of Young Adult Health. European Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol - 11(1).
690-704.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
University Students' Perceptions and Attitudes Towards
Telemental Health Clinics: The Future of Young Adult Health
Anhar Alherz
King Faisal General Hospital,
Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Dana A. Almousa
Department of Health Informatics,
College of Applied Medical Sciences,
King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
Rahaf A. Aldossary
Department of Nursing,
College of Applied Medical Sciences,
King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
Zahrah H. Alali
Department of Acute Psychological
Conditions, Alahsa Mental Health Hospital
Maryam H. Alshabib
Department of Nursing,
College of Applied Medical Sciences,
King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
Ola Mousa
Department of Nursing,
College of Applied Medical Sciences,
King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
ABSTRACT
Background: Recent years have seen a rapid advance in digital health technologies
and apps. This era of digital services will see it play a greater role in transforming
health care. In recent years, mental health problems have become increasingly
prevalent among young adults attending universities. Universities students are
more likely to suffer from psychological distress and mental illness than
nonstudents. This study examines undergraduate university students' perceptions
and attitudes toward telemental health, as well as its features. Methods: An online
survey was administered to undergraduates at King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
as part of a cross-sectional study. Their invitations to the web-based survey were
sent between September and December 2022. Results: The study included 384
participants in total. 165 (43% of the participants) were in university colleges at
the 4th level or higher. The majority of participants (214/55.7%) came from non-
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Alherz, A., Almousa, D. A., Aldossary, R. A., Alali, Z. H., Alshabib, M. H., & Mousa, O. (2023). University Students' Perceptions and Attitudes Towards
Telemental Health Clinics: The Future of Young Adult Health. European Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol - 11(1). 690-704.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.111.14534.
health colleges. There were 269 female students (70.1%) in the study. The average
knowledge level about telemental health clinics is 3.70, which indicates a high level
of knowledge. The attitude mean score for telemental health clinics is 3.59, which
is considered to be a high "positive" level. Conclusion: Digital mental health
technologies are widely popular among young people both inside and outside of
youth mental health services. Additionally, they expressed a positive attitude
toward its use. In spite of the majority of youths being willing to consider virtual
services, many youths have concerns about confidentiality. In relation to youth
mental health, it is important to understand how young people view digital mental
health interventions.
Keywords: Telemental-health, Acceptancy, Perception, Effectiveness, University students
INTRODUCTION
Universities are increasingly aware of the high rates of mental health problems experienced by
young adults. There is a higher rate of psychological distress and mental disorders among
university students than among nonstudents (Farrer L., et al., 2015). Also, many youths
struggling with mental health problems do not receive mental health care (Merikangas KR., et
al., 2011). For this group, barriers to gaining access to mental health care include both
psychological barriers, such as stigma and lack of knowledge about accessing mental health
services, as well as structural barriers, such as a lack of transportation and provider shortages
(Myers KM., et al., 2010; Goldstein F, Glueck D., 2016).
Human life has been affected significantly by the evolution of the Internet, including mental
health (Sukmawati, 2019). The term telemental health refers to the provision of psychiatric
services from a distance using data and communication technologies. Videoconferencing-based
telepsychiatry enhances patient satisfaction and provides a permissive and empowered means
of service delivery (Chakrabarti, S.2015).
Also, many psychological interventions are now available quickly and easily through screens.
Several studies have shown that online cognitive behavioral therapy is equally effective
compared to face-to-face therapy for treating a wide variety of mental disorders (Andersson G.,
et al., 2014) with positive effects on young people (Donovan CL, March S., 2014) it may be
because they are familiar with the format.
The use of mobile phone "apps" in psychiatry is also a hot topic of debate. A recent study found
that psychiatric patients are open to using smartphone technology in their care (Torous J.,
2014) which can be used for monitoring, communicating, triaging, and even diagnosing (Torous
J, Fromson JA., 2016).
Studies have shown that TMH can effectively treat depression (Bolinski F., et al., 2020), anxiety
(Huberty J., et al., 2019), sleep (Gipson CS., et al., 2019), stress (Harrer M., et al., 2018), PTSD
(Possemato K., et al., 2016), and eating disorders (Lipson SK., et al., 2016) in college students.
Mobile apps, online modules, text messaging, and other platforms have been used by college
students (Nguyen-Feng VN., et al., 2017).
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European Journal of Applied Sciences (EJAS) Vol. 11, Issue 1, February -2023
Access to affordable and accessible mental health care is a major obstacle to treatment
(Demyttenaere K., 2004). Telepsychiatry was originally designed to increase access to
specialized mental health services for almost all populations.
As a result of the use of telepsychiatry in remote communities, many of the disadvantages of
traditional methods of service delivery have been overcome. Many studies have found no
difference in reliability and diagnostic accuracy between telepsychiatric assessments and face- to-face assessments (Montani C., et al., 1998; Yoshino A., et al., 2001; Singh SP., et al., 2007;
Seidel RW, Kilgus MD., 20014).
More than three decades have passed since Saudi Arabia adopted eHealth and telehealth
services. A Center of eHealth was established at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research
Center in Riyadh, for instance. As part of its international cooperation with other centers
around the world, the center also keeps a telemedicine network distributed throughout Saudi
Arabia to deliver health care and consultation to remote regions (El-Mahalli AA, et al., 2012).
A digital transformation plan for the public and private health sectors was implemented
recently as part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 (Hassounah M, et al., 2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant shift in the requirement for new healthcare
delivery methods. The research shows that both patients and physicians have benefited greatly
from the change in how health care is delivered.
AIM
Our study seeks to investigate the perception and attitudes of university undergraduate
students towards telemental health, and what its features would be.
METHODS
Participants
Across 15 colleges at King Faisal University, 39,593 undergraduate students were enrolled in
the academic year 2022–2023. Using Yamane's Sampling Method (Yamane, 1967) with 95 %
confidence level and 5 % allowable error, at least 396 students were required.
Research Instrument
Questions were developed by the research team. The researchers developed the questionnaire
to identify the attitudes of undergraduate students towards telemental health based on
literature and some related references and studies, including Amichai-Hamburger (2017), Stoll
et al. (2020), Teo et al. (2020), Yurayat Ph., Seechaliao Th.(2022), and Hawke, L.D., et al., (2021).
The questionnaire consisted of 27 items divided into three areas: (7) items for the demographic
characteristics of the participants; (5) items for the perception of telemental health; (8) items
for the utility and acceptability of a telemental health clinic for students; and (7) items for the
possible characteristics of a telemental health clinic. There were five response ranges: strongly
agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree, represented by the numbers 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.