Development of a framework for the implementation of synchronous e-mental health: a protocol for a realist synthesis of systematic reviews [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

• Published in: F1000 research 2020, Vol.9, p.1282-1282
• Main Authors: Villarreal-Zegarra, David, Alarcon-Ruiz, Christoper A, Melendez-Torres, G.J, Torres-Puente, Roberto, Ambrosio-Melgarejo, Juan, Romero-Cabrera, Alejandra B, Navarro-Flores, Alba, Albitres-Flores, Leonardo, Lindo-Cavero, Ana, Huarcaya-Victoria, Jeff
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Calibration; Citation indexes; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Generalized anxiety disorder; Health care; Humans; Medical personnel; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental Health; Meta-analysis; Meta-Analysis as Topic; Pandemics; Reviews; SARS-CoV-2; Stress; Study Protocol; Systematic review; Systematic Reviews as Topic; Telemedicine
• ISSN: 2046-1402; 2046-1402
• DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.27150.2

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been necessary to deliver mental health care using technologies (e-mental health). But there have been difficulties in its application. Quantitative systematic reviews such as meta-analysis doesn't allow us to fully identify and properly describe this subject. Thus, our study has two main objectives: a) "to determine what evidence is available for synchronous e-mental health implementation"; and b) "to develop a framework informed by a realist analysis for the implementation of synchronous e-mental health". Methods: We will search MEDLINE, EBM Reviews, PsycINFO, EMBASE, SCOPUS, CINAHL Complete, and Web of Science databases from 1st January 2015 to September 2020, with no language restriction. A systematic review with a narrative description and a realist synthesis will be conducted. Primary studies relating to adults with common mental health problems using any type of mobile mental health intervention that includes a synchronic component and communication with a mental health professional will be included. For the analysis, we will make a realist synthesis of the systematic reviews, using a grounded theory approach with an emergent approach to synthesize the information, prioritizing the systematic reviews with a lower risk of bias in the AMSTAR-2 tool. The realist synthesis will be based on the interpretation, integration, and inference of the evaluated elements and the generation of hypotheses to better understand the implementation process of synchronous e-mental health. Finally, we will present the overall assessment in a Summary of Qualitative Findings table. Conclusion: Our results will allow a better understanding of the facilitator and limitations in implementing e-mental health.