Preferences for virtual versus in-person mental and physical healthcare in Canada: a descriptive study from a cohort of youth and their parents enriched for severe mental illness
Background Virtual care may improve access to healthcare and may be well suited to digitally connected youth, but experts caution that privacy and technology barriers could perpetuate access inequities. Success of virtual care will depend on its alignment with patient preferences. However, informati...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2024-08-01
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| Series: | BMJ Paediatrics Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/8/1/e002197.full |
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| author | Lucy Chen Ross Langley Rudolf Uher Raegan Mazurka Emily Howes Vallis Kathryn Freeman Briana Ross Swasti Arora Mica Kahn Cynthia Howard Dara Liu Jill Cumby Maureen L Brennan Samuel E Hickcox Alexa L Bagnell Lukas Propper Barbara Pavlova |
| author_facet | Lucy Chen Ross Langley Rudolf Uher Raegan Mazurka Emily Howes Vallis Kathryn Freeman Briana Ross Swasti Arora Mica Kahn Cynthia Howard Dara Liu Jill Cumby Maureen L Brennan Samuel E Hickcox Alexa L Bagnell Lukas Propper Barbara Pavlova |
| author_sort | Lucy Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Virtual care may improve access to healthcare and may be well suited to digitally connected youth, but experts caution that privacy and technology barriers could perpetuate access inequities. Success of virtual care will depend on its alignment with patient preferences. However, information on preferences for virtual and in-person healthcare is missing, especially for youth. We sought to quantify preferences for and barriers to virtual versus in-person mental and physical healthcare in youth and their parents, including in vulnerable segments of the population such as families with a parent with severe mental illness (SMI).Methods Participants were 219 youth and 326 parents from the Families Overcoming Risks and Building Opportunities for Wellbeing cohort from Canada, of which 61% of youth had at least one parent with SMI. Participants were interviewed about healthcare preferences and access to privacy/technology between October 2021 and December 2022.Results Overall, youth reported a preference for in-person mental (66.6%) and physical healthcare (74.7%) versus virtual care or no preference, and to a somewhat lesser degree, so did their parents (48.0% and 53.9%). Half of participants reported privacy/technology barriers to virtual care, with privacy being the most common barrier. Preferences and barriers varied as a function of parent SMI status, socioeconomic status and rural residence.Conclusions The majority of youth and parents in this study prefer in-person healthcare, and the preference is stronger in youth and in vulnerable segments of the population. Lack of privacy may be a greater barrier to virtual care than access to technology. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e7da1e85fe9441a3b7e00004c1ddf743 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2399-9772 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-08-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Paediatrics Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-e7da1e85fe9441a3b7e00004c1ddf7432025-08-20T02:51:18ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Paediatrics Open2399-97722024-08-018110.1136/bmjpo-2023-002197Preferences for virtual versus in-person mental and physical healthcare in Canada: a descriptive study from a cohort of youth and their parents enriched for severe mental illnessLucy Chen0Ross Langley1Rudolf Uher2Raegan Mazurka3Emily Howes Vallis4Kathryn Freeman5Briana Ross6Swasti Arora7Mica Kahn8Cynthia Howard9Dara Liu10Jill Cumby11Maureen L Brennan12Samuel E Hickcox13Alexa L Bagnell14Lukas Propper15Barbara Pavlova16Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaDalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaprofessorDalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaDalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaDalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaNova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaNova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaNova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaNova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaNova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaNova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaIWK Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaNova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaDalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaDalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaDalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaBackground Virtual care may improve access to healthcare and may be well suited to digitally connected youth, but experts caution that privacy and technology barriers could perpetuate access inequities. Success of virtual care will depend on its alignment with patient preferences. However, information on preferences for virtual and in-person healthcare is missing, especially for youth. We sought to quantify preferences for and barriers to virtual versus in-person mental and physical healthcare in youth and their parents, including in vulnerable segments of the population such as families with a parent with severe mental illness (SMI).Methods Participants were 219 youth and 326 parents from the Families Overcoming Risks and Building Opportunities for Wellbeing cohort from Canada, of which 61% of youth had at least one parent with SMI. Participants were interviewed about healthcare preferences and access to privacy/technology between October 2021 and December 2022.Results Overall, youth reported a preference for in-person mental (66.6%) and physical healthcare (74.7%) versus virtual care or no preference, and to a somewhat lesser degree, so did their parents (48.0% and 53.9%). Half of participants reported privacy/technology barriers to virtual care, with privacy being the most common barrier. Preferences and barriers varied as a function of parent SMI status, socioeconomic status and rural residence.Conclusions The majority of youth and parents in this study prefer in-person healthcare, and the preference is stronger in youth and in vulnerable segments of the population. Lack of privacy may be a greater barrier to virtual care than access to technology.https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/8/1/e002197.full |
| spellingShingle | Lucy Chen Ross Langley Rudolf Uher Raegan Mazurka Emily Howes Vallis Kathryn Freeman Briana Ross Swasti Arora Mica Kahn Cynthia Howard Dara Liu Jill Cumby Maureen L Brennan Samuel E Hickcox Alexa L Bagnell Lukas Propper Barbara Pavlova Preferences for virtual versus in-person mental and physical healthcare in Canada: a descriptive study from a cohort of youth and their parents enriched for severe mental illness BMJ Paediatrics Open |
| title | Preferences for virtual versus in-person mental and physical healthcare in Canada: a descriptive study from a cohort of youth and their parents enriched for severe mental illness |
| title_full | Preferences for virtual versus in-person mental and physical healthcare in Canada: a descriptive study from a cohort of youth and their parents enriched for severe mental illness |
| title_fullStr | Preferences for virtual versus in-person mental and physical healthcare in Canada: a descriptive study from a cohort of youth and their parents enriched for severe mental illness |
| title_full_unstemmed | Preferences for virtual versus in-person mental and physical healthcare in Canada: a descriptive study from a cohort of youth and their parents enriched for severe mental illness |
| title_short | Preferences for virtual versus in-person mental and physical healthcare in Canada: a descriptive study from a cohort of youth and their parents enriched for severe mental illness |
| title_sort | preferences for virtual versus in person mental and physical healthcare in canada a descriptive study from a cohort of youth and their parents enriched for severe mental illness |
| url | https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/8/1/e002197.full |
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