Assessment of awareness, practices, perceptions, and satisfaction of telepsychiatry among mental healthcare providers in Saudi Arabia

Omar A Alshaikhi ^1* Lujain A Aldarsi ¹ Ibrahim Abdullah A Basfar ² Alwaleed Alshehri ³ RAAFAT M SHUQDAR ⁴ Ramy Mohamed Ghazy ⁵ Mahmoud Essam Elrggal ^6*

• ¹ Ministry of Health (Saudi Arabia), Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• ² Eradah Complex for Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Saudi Arabia), Al Qassim, Saudi Arabia
• ³ King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
• ⁴ College of Medicine, Taibah University, Madina, Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia
• ⁵ Department of Tropical Health, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
• ⁶ Umm al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Background: Telepsychiatry, a global method for mental health services, has gained global attention, especially in the COVID-19 era. It uses electronic communication and information technologies for remote psychiatric care, with synchronous modalities involving real-time interactions and asynchronous modalities allowing indirect communication. This study aimed to assess the awareness, practices, perceptions, and satisfaction of mental healthcare providers (MHPs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) regarding telepsychiatry utilization. Method: This online, survey-based crosssectional study included MHPs, both physicians and non-physicians, working in public and private mental health services across various regions of KSA. The study questionnaire was distributed using Google Forms via email and other popular social media platforms (including WhatsApp, Twitter, Telegram, and Facebook). The questionnaire was developed to assess the personal and socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, as well as their awareness, practices, perceptions, and satisfaction regarding telepsychiatry. Participants were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling techniques. Results: Out of the 500 MHPs enrolled in the study, 52.2%were under 30 years, 52.6% were male, and 54.8% were single. Participants were from five regions: Central (27.6%), Western (22.6%), Eastern (22.0%), Southern (16.8%), and Northern (11.0%). Professionally, 33.8% were psychiatric residents, 21.8% were psychologists, 19.2% were social workers, and 12.6% each were psychiatric consultants and specialists. 73.8% demonstrated awareness of telepsychiatry. More than three-fifths (63.7%) had previous practical experience. Among those with experience, 82.9% reported telepsychiatry practice durations of 3 years or less. Perception and satisfaction percentage scores for different domains indicated high perception regarding the advantages and disadvantages (62.6% ± 13.9) and improved patient access (75.2% ± 17.4). However, lower satisfaction scores were observed for MHPs' access satisfaction (46.6% ± 11.7) and practice satisfaction (57.6% ± 9.6). Conclusion and recommendation: MHPs in KSA exhibit high awareness but engage in telepsychiatry practice to a lesser extent. They have a good perception and are satisfied with their telepsychiatry practice. The study recommends that policymakers and stakeholders in KSA should prioritize building the capacities of MHPs in telehealth. Expanding and scaling up awareness activities are essential to improve digital literacy and telehealth practices among MHPs.