Monroe, LA – The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health publishes Northeast Delta Human Services Authority’s (NEDHSA) research entitled, “Determinants of Telehealth Service Use among Mental Health Patients: A Case of Rural Louisiana.” NEDHSA’s study investigated the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of the intensity of telehealth use among mental health patients residing in rural Louisiana.
NEDHSA Executive Director Dr. Monteic A. Sizer said that this report being published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health “validates our empirical focus and overall population health desires in Louisiana’s Delta.”
“We are committed to further publishing outcome-based research on the effectiveness of our integrated behavioral and primary healthcare model,” Dr. Monteic A. Sizer said. “I established our analytics department to better help us measure the outcomes and efficiencies of our internal operations, and also to be able to know more about the social, environmental, psychological, and primary healthcare needs of the hundreds of vulnerable patients we serve regionally. With this data focus and our commitment to continuous improvement, we are well on our way to further transforming our region and the lives of those we serve.”
NEDHSA’s Director of Behavioral and Primary Health Analytics, Dr. Dependra Bhatta, said “understanding the mental health care use intensity and the variation in health care utilization by different subgroups of mental health patients is “important to frame clinical guidelines and policy decisions and allocate the mental healthcare resources optimally.”
“This highlights the need for studies examining the different facets of telehealth services and their utilization among mental health patients, particularly in rural settings,” Dr. Bhatta said. “Our study finds that mental health patients, including elders, less educated, and with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders are less likely to use telehealth services. Policies targeted to reduce the digital divide and tailored to specific sub-classes of mental health illnesses could help promote telehealth services to rural residents.”
