ISLANDS, is the latest completed project with which we are involved. It is a European co-funded research project in the thematic area "Quality of Life" of the Fifth European Community Framework Programme.
ISLANDS aims to develop services in the mental health field for people living in remote areas, such as islands. These remote places often lack the necessary equipment for diagnosing, consulting and treating patients; and frequently have no mental healthcare centers or psychiatric clinics to look after the patients. This may require the patient to travel.
The project objective is to develop modular, non-conventional, remote psycho-therapeutic assistance for remote areas. This is approached by identifying the specific needs of patients, their informal carers and health professionals, defining different service categories for the user groups, recognizing the most acute risks and compensation strategies, and developing remote services in diagnosing, counselling and even treatment of psychological disorders, and appropriate content and service provision.
It is hoped that by these means the quality of life of the users, the quality of mental healthcare and the economic strength of the region would improve and outweigh the costs of implementing action and support programmes. Preventing psychological problems and supporting a healthy lifestyle is one way to improve health services. At the same time scientific progress has to develop more efficient strategies. Modern information technology will be used to plan and disseminate information about prevention, therapy and self-help techniques using modern information technology.
Telepsychiatry is the practice of mental healthcare using interactive audiovisual and data communications to provide and support mental healthcare when there is long distance between the participants. Information is transmitted via high-speed communication lines. It includes medical care delivery, diagnosis, consultation, treatment information, as well as education. The following benefits are envisaged:
o Improves access to medical care for geographically or socio- economically isolated
patients.
o Opportunity for remote areas to provide the proper health care services to their
patients
o Cost effective approach, prevents unnecessary travel
o Promotes psycho-education
o Facilitates community education concerning mental health care topics.
o Augments the quality, continuity and affordability of medical care.
o Effectively utilizes local medical resources by creating an integrated state wide network of
primary and secondary care for citizens.
o May help secure the financial stability of rural hospitals and allow patients to obtain
medical consultation in their own community.