Feasibility and Effectiveness of Telecounseling on the Psychological Problems of Frontline Healthcare Workers Amidst COVID-19: A Randomized Controlled Trial from Central India. Issue 4 (July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gupta, Snehil; Kumar, Mohit; Rozatkar, Abhijit R.; Basera, Devendra; Purwar, Shashank; Gautam, Disha; Jahan, Rahat
• Is Part Of: Indian journal of psychological medicine. Volume 43:Issue 4(2021)
• Page Start: 343
• Page End: 350
• Publication Date: 2021-07
• Subjects: Frontline -- Healthcare workers -- Telecounseling -- COVID-19 -- Randomize-control trial; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; 616.89
• DOI: 10.1177/02537176211024537
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0253-7176

Abstract

Background: Preliminary reports suggest that during the COVID-19 pandemic, telecounseling could be an effective model of psychological intervention for the frontline healthcare workers (fHCW) with psychological problems. Literature is sparse in this area, particularly from low- and middle-income countries, including India. We aimed to investigate the feasibility and the effectiveness of telecounseling (vs. general education) on the psychological problems of the fHCW over three time-points (baseline vs. end-of-session and at two and four weeks after the intervention). Methods: The study followed a single-blind, active arm versus general education, parallel-group randomized control design, with participant allocation in 1:1. Active healthcare workers (HCWs) with mild- to-severe or clinically concerning scores on any of the sub-scales of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) or Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R; represented by higher scores) were included, while those with known psychiatric illness were excluded. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U test and linear-mixed effect model (group-, time, and group by time-effect) were used for analysis. Results: There were no baseline group differences (telecounseling group, active arm, n = 9; general education group, control arm, n = 10). A significant time-effect (P = 0.044 to <.001) was found on DASS-21 on intention-to-treat analysis. Per-protocol analysis, additionally, found a significant group effect on Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R; P = 0.036). A significant random effect of the participants was also found (P <.001). Conclusion: Telecounseling could be a feasible and scalable model of psychological interventions for the fHCW with psychological problems, albeit with some feasibility challenges.