JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

e-Mental health (eMH) provides a promising strategy to bridge the treatment gap in mental healthcare. Training workshops have been delivered to service providers working with Indigenous Australians at a primary healthcare level to raise awareness and knowledge of e-mental health approaches.

Objective:

The present study aimed to understand service providers’ perspectives and experiences of eMH utilization. More specifically, it aimed to use the integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (i-PARIHS) framework to further identify and understand how different factors facilitate and/or impede e-mental health uptake within primary healthcare settings servicing Indigenous Australians.

Methods:

Qualitative interviews were conducted with 57 service providers working with Indigenous Australians, who have undergone e-mental health training workshops.

Results:

A number of factors relating to the innovation (eMH approach), recipient (service providers as an individual and as a team) and context (local, organizational, and external contexts) were found to influence eMH uptake. Particularly, organizational readiness, in terms of IT resources and infrastructure, policies, workforce and culture, and processes to mandate eMH use, was found to be a significant impediment to eMH utilization. These findings led to the development of a three-phase implementation strategy which aims to enhance eMH adoption by addressing organizational readiness prior to and post eMH training.

Conclusions:

The i-PARIHS framework provided a useful theoretical guide which deepened our understanding of how different factors impede or facilitate e-mental health implementation in this setting. This insight was used to develop a practical and comprehensive facilitation strategy to enhance successful e-mental health implementation, involving three phases: pre-training consultations, training workshops and post-training follow-up support.