Original articleTelepsychiatry with incarcerated youth
Section snippets
Correctional program and subjects
Naselle Youth Camp (NYC) is a minimum-security juvenile correctional facility in rural Washington state, approximately 200 miles (a four-hour drive) from Seattle. Common offenses include theft, burglary, car theft, harassment, assault, and sex offenses. Less common offenses include rape, drug offenses, vehicular manslaughter, and murder. The average sentence is six months, ranging from 30 days to four years.
NYC partners with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Department of Fish &
Data Analyses
Utilization, diagnoses, and prescribed medications were examined according to gender and age. Mean satisfaction ratings were calculated. Additionally, percentages were calculated for youth rating each item on technical aspects as “very good,” “outstanding,” or “very good or outstanding”; and percentages were calculated for youth rating each item on clinical aspects as “somewhat agree,” “strongly agree,” or “somewhat or strongly agree.” Data are presented without statistical comparisons as no
Results
Few of the youth (6%) did not have previously diagnosed disorders. Those seven youth without prior diagnoses were well distributed over the four groups. According to NYC’s Mental Health Coordinator, no youth refused services and our sample appears representative of youths who needed psychiatric care.
Figure 1 shows the quarterly utilization of the telepsychiatry service. For 24 months the census was steady, representing the quick saturation of the available time slots. The dip in the
Discussion
This descriptive study provides preliminary evidence that telepsychiatry can be used to deliver services at a distance to incarcerated adolescents with a range of psychopathology. Our psychiatrist found that telepsychiatry provided adequate technical resolution and interpersonal rapport to diagnose and treat seriously impaired youth. Anecdotally, in 2005 the model changed. The psychiatrist provided telepsychiatric care and onsite visits during alternate weeks. Diagnoses made through
Conclusions
Based on this experience, future research on the use of telepsychiatry with incarcerated youth seems warranted. This demonstration of the feasibility of establishing a telepsychiatry service, its solid acceptability to youth, and tolerability by staff opens the door for further investigation of the ability of telepsychiatry to deliver evidence-based, quality care that improves outcomes for high-risk incarcerated youth.
References (17)
- et al.
Telepsychiatry consultation for ADHD in the primary care setting
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
(2000) - et al.
Prevalence of depression and other psychiatric disorders among incarcerated youths
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
(2003) - et al.
A systematic review of the efficacy of telemedicine for making diagnostic and management decisions
J Telemed Telecare
(2002) - et al.
Client satisfaction in a feasibility study comparing face-to-face interviews with telepsychiatry
J Telemed Telecare
(2002) - et al.
Effects of telepsychiatry on the doctor-patient relationshipcommunication, satisfaction, and relevant issues
Prim Psychiatry
(2002) - et al.
Self-regulation training for chronic paincan it be done effectively by telemedicine?
Telemed J E Health
(2002) - et al.
Telepsychiatry in child and adolescent psychiatryare patients comparable to those in usual outpatient care?
Telemed J E Health
(2004) - et al.
Consumer satisfaction with telemedicine child psychiatry consultation in rural Kentucky
Psychiatr Serv
(1997)
Cited by (84)
Telepsychiatry versus face to face consultation in COVID-19 Era from the patients’ perspective
2021, Asian Journal of PsychiatryPediatric behavioral telehealth in the age of COVID-19: Brief evidence review and practice considerations
2021, Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health CareBarriers to Use of Telepsychiatry: Clinicians as Gatekeepers
2019, Mayo Clinic ProceedingsTelepsychiatry and Digital Mental Health Care in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Implications for Service Delivery in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
2018, Understanding Uniqueness and Diversity in Child and Adolescent Mental HealthClinical Update: Telepsychiatry With Children and Adolescents
2017, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryCollege student preferences of telepsychiatry
2023, Journal of American College Health