JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Children, adolescents, and young adults with chronic conditions experience difficulties coping with disease-related stressors, comorbid mental health problems, and decreased quality of life. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a global mental health crisis, and tele-mental health has necessarily displaced in-person care. However, it remains unknown whether such remote interventions are feasible or efficacious. We aimed to fill this research-practice gap.

Objective:

In this systematic review, we present a synthesis of feasibility and efficacy studies of tele-mental health interventions for youths ≤25 years with chronic illnesses.

Methods:

PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsychInfo, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched from 2008-2020. We included experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational studies of tele-mental health interventions designed for children, adolescents, and young adults aged ≤25 years with chronic illnesses in which feasibility or efficacy outcomes were measured. Only English-language publications in peer-reviewed journals were included. Of 2,154 unique study records, 13 articles were included.

Results:

Tele-mental health interventions were universally appropriate, acceptable, and satisfactory to patients and their parents. Technology did not create barriers in access to care. Evidence in support of the efficacy of tele-mental health was mixed. The significant heterogeneity in treatment type, medical diagnoses, and outcomes precluded meta-analysis.

Conclusions:

Early evidence supports the feasibility of telehealth-based delivery of traditional in-person interventions. Few studies have assessed efficacy and current findings are mixed. Future research should continue to evaluate whether tele-mental health may serve as a sustainable alternative to in-person care post-COVID.