JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Egypt is a country of nearly 100 million citizens which has less than 1000 registered psychiatrists. The mental health care system is under resourced and nearly inaccessible for the majority of the population. Especially for those under 25 years old, which represents 50% of Egyptian citizens, who have no services addressing their special needs. So how to address the needs of the biggest population in the middle east? Is a web-based framework an option for Egyptian psychiatrists to serve the population?

Objective:

The aim of this study was to better understand the opinions of psychiatrists on the current state of health care services in Egypt and their current knowledge on e-health; assess the attitudes of Egyptian psychiatrists towards web-based interventions and telemedicine for mental health; identify perceived advantages and barriers of e-health development in Egypt.

Methods:

An online survey was sent to 640 mental health care givers in Egypt, 188 responded with response rate 29.7%. From the participants, 52.4% were female and 54% were between 30 and 45 years old. A total of 19 questions concerning EMH literacy, integrating EMH into the mental health care system, and the perceived priorities and barriers of EMH were posed in a cross-sectional survey. The sampling was supported by Tanta University, a big academic institution close to Cairo. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS-22. Descriptive statistics, Chi square, independent sample t-test and ANOVA were applied.

Results:

Less than half of participants thought that the current health care system was efficient for adults (46.7%), and even less thought it was efficient for youth (30.4%). Almost all participants agreed that EMH would be beneficial for patient care (95%), and that integrating EMH into the current health care system would be a good idea (76%). The highest rated utility of web-based solutions was documentation, followed by psychoeducation and communication with professionals. The main advantages were to improve access to care in rural areas of the country and its convenience.

Conclusions:

There is a scarcity of mental health resources in Egypt, especially for youth. Egyptian psychiatrists are ready for a change, and EMH should be part of a solution for the Egyptian mental health care system.