Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2020-5
Perspectives,Experiences,and Practices in the Use of Digital Information Technologies in the Management of Depression and Alcohol Use Disorder in Health Care Systems in Colombia
Digital information technologies are increasingly used in the treatment of mental health disorders. Through this qualitative study, researchers illuminated perspectives, experiences, and practices among diverse stakeholders in the use of digital information technologies in the management of depression and alcohol use disorders in Colombia. In-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted in five primary care institutions across Colombia. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The use of technology in the treatment of mental health disorders can facilitate the evaluation and diagnosis, treatment, and promotion and prevention of mental health disorders, as well as multiple nonmental health applications in the primary care setting. Potential barriers to the use of technology in this setting include challenges of digital literacy, access to technology, confidentiality, and financing. This study can inform the implementation of digital information technologies in the care of depression and problematic alcohol use within health care systems in Colombia.
AndreassenH. K.TrondsenM.KummervoldP. E.GammonD.HjortdahlP. (2006). Patients who use e-mediated communication with their doctor: New constructions of trust in the patient-doctor relationship. Qualitative Health Research, 16(2), 238–248. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305284667
BarbourR. (2001). Checklists for Improving Rigour in Qualitative Research: A Case of the Tail Wagging the Dog?Bmj, 322, 1115–1117. doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7294.111
4.
BeléndezM.SuriáR. (2010). Apoyo a un «click» de ratón: los foros de Internet para problemas de salud [Support is just a mouse click away: Health-related Internet Forums]. Acción Psicológica, 7(1), 17–27. https://doi.org/10.5944/ap.7.1.202
Campo-AriasA.OviedoH. C.HerazoE. (2014). Prevalence of symptoms, possible cases, and mental illness in victims of the internal armed conflict in situations of displacement in Colombia: A systematic review. Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatría, 43, 177–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcp.2014.07.003
7.
ChaskelR.GaviriaS. L.EspinelZ.TabordaE.VanegasR.ShultzJ. M. (2015). Mental health in Colombia. BJPsych International, 12(4), 95–97. https://doi.org/10.1192/S2056474000000660
Dilkes-FrayneE.SavicM.CarterA.KokanovicR.LubmanD. I. (2019). Going online: The affordances of online counseling for families affected by alcohol and other drug issues. Qualitative Health Research, 29, 2010–2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732319838231
10.
Garay-FernándezJ. D.Gómez-RestrepoC. (2011). Telepsychiatry: Mental healthcare innovation. A general perspective. Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatría, 40, 504–518. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-7450(14)60143-8
11.
GilgunJ. (2019). Deductive qualitative analysis and grounded theory: Sensitizing concepts and hypothesis-testing. In BryantA.CharmazK. (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of current developments in grounded theory (pp. 107–122). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526436061.n7
Gómez-RestrepoC. (2003). The post-conflict in Colombia: Challenges for psychiatry. Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatría, 32, 130–132.
14.
GuestG.MacQueenK. M.NameyE. E. (2011). Applied thematic analysis. Sage.
15.
HuangY.-H.SuI.-J. (2009). Does health related quality of life differ between people with chronic mental illness who use computers and those who do not? In StephanidisC. (Ed.), Universal access in human-computer interaction: Users diversity (pp. 361–365). Springer.
16.
HylerS. E.GangureD. P. (2004). Legal and ethical challenges in telepsychiatry. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 10(4), 272–276.
17.
KimH.SefcikJ. S.BradwayC. (2017). Characteristics of qualitative descriptive studies: A systematic review. Research in Nursing & Health, 40(1), 23–42. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.21768
18.
LevittH. M.MotulskyS. L.WertzF. J.MorrowS. L.PonterottoJ. G. (2017). Recommendations for designing and reviewing qualitative research in psychology: Promoting methodological integrity. Qualitative Psychology, 4, 2–22. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000082
19.
Marin-TorresV.Valverde AliagaJ.Sanchez MiroI.Saenz Del Castillo VicenteM. I.Polentinos-CastroE.Garrido BarralA. (2013). Internet as an information source for health in primary care patients and its influence on the physician-patient relationship. Aten Primaria, 45(1), 46–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aprim.2012.09.004
20.
MarschL. A.GustafsonD. H. (2013). The role of technology in health care innovation: A commentary. Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 9(1), 101–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/15504263.2012.750105
NaslundJ. A.AschbrennerK. A.ArayaR.MarschL. A.UnutzerJ.PatelV.BartelsS. J. (2017). Digital technology for treating and preventing mental disorders in low-income and middle-income countries: A narrative review of the literature. Lancet Psychiatry, 4(6), 486–500. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2215-0366(17)30096-2
NowellS. N.NorrisJ. M.WhiteD. E.MoulesN. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
Pan American Health Organization & World Health Organization. (2016). Implementation of the global action program to overcome the mental health gaps - mhGAP- in the region of the Americas. http://iris.paho.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/33715
Posada-VillaJ. A.Aguilar-GaxiolaS. A.MagañaC. G.GómezL. C. (2004). Prevalence of mental health disorders and use of services: preliminary results from the National Study of Mental Health. Colombia, 2003. Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatría, 33(3), 241–262.
33.
PuertoG. A. S.RincónE. H. H.ObandoF. S. (2016). Use of mobile health applications with internal medicine patients at the regional hospital of Duitama, Boyacá, Colombia. Revista Cubana de Informacion en Ciencias de la Salud, 27(3), 271–285.
34.
SandelowskiM. (2000). Whatever happened to qualitative description?Research in Nursing & Health, 23(4), 334–340. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-240X(200008)23:4<334::AID-NUR9>3.0.CO;2-G
VälimäkiM.HatonenH.LahtiM.KuosmanenL.AdamsC. E. (2012). Information and communication technology in patient education and support for people with schizophrenia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 10, CD007198. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD007198.pub2
37.
VargasI.Mogollón-PérezA. S.De PaepeP.FerreiradaSilvaM. R.UngerJ.-P.VázquezM.-L. (2016). Barriers to healthcare coordination in market-based and decentralized public health systems: A qualitative study in healthcare networks of Colombia and Brazil. Health Policy and Planning, 31(6), 736–748. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czv126
38.
WhitebirdR. R.SolbergL. I.MargolisK. L.AscheS. E.TrangleM. A.WinemanA. P. (2013). Barriers to improving primary care of depression: perspectives of medical group leaders. Qual Health Res, 23(6), 805–814. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732313
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
