Online consultations with psychiatrists can significantly help those with mental health issues as they are more accessible to patients, a University of Hong Kong pilot program has found.
During a press briefing on Monday, HKU’s Department of Psychiatry revealed that it had reached over 1,600 people through a program providing online psychiatry sessions and follow-up services since November 2020.
Of those, 58 per cent were considered to be at “significant risk of mental disorder,” and most participants had never seen a psychiatrist before.
Eric Chen, the head of the department, said there are multiple barriers preventing people from seeking clinical help with mental health issues, including societal stigma, long waiting lists for public services, financial burdens and the disruption to services due to Covid-19 infections, lockdowns and related policies.
To address these concerns, the HKU program headwind provides free online consultations with professional psychiatrists. Chen said the approach could make participants feel that their privacy was better protected, as they are not required to show their faces. Meetings could also be arranged within one or two days.
Speaking at the same press conference, Chan Kai-tai, a clinical associate professor, said they followed up with 112 participants three months after their consultations and saw “significant” improvement in their mental health.
According to Chan, the ratio of those who were considered in severe mental health distress had dropped from 58 per cent to 30.8 per cent after speaking with psychiatrists. A control group recorded a decrease of 43.1 per cent.
Chan said he hoped that the results of the pilot program could be used as a reference to help provide access to those in need.
Young people most susceptible
Almost half – 49.6 per cent – of the program’s participants were aged between 15 and 24.
Chan said mental and emotional issues generally emerged in one’s younger years. He said the impact of Covid-19 on people’s mental health was “indirect but significant,” as they were affected by various pandemic control measures. For example, students were put in online classes and were not able to meet their classmates and teachers, which would affect their social growth.
While the program found that stress was most frequently attributed to study, work, or relationships, Chen said that external factors, including the pandemic and protests, as well as factors unique to each individual, also played a role.
Michael Wong, a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry, said during Monday’s press briefing that he had saw around 600 students in the program and many told him that they had issues with online classes.
“Basically [they] learn nothing, but before they can pick it up, they will have to study new things [when school reopens.]”Wong said.