Introduction. The rising incidence of mental illness and its impact on individuals, families, and societies is becoming a major\npublic health concern, especially in resource-constrained countries. Consequently, there is an increasing demand formental health\nservices in many middle- and low-income countries (LMIC). Challenges such as inequality in access, lack of staff and hospital\nbeds, and underfunding, often present in the LMIC, might in part be addressed by telemental health services. However, little is\nknown about telemental health in the LMIC. Methods. Asystematic reviewwas performed, drawing on several electronic databases,\nincluding PubMed, PsycINFO,Web of Science, Springer Link, andGoogle Scholar.Original English language studies on the practice\nof telemental health in LMIC, involving patients and published between 1 January 2000 and 16 February 2017, were included.\nResults. Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Most of the articles were recent, which may reflect an increasing focus on\ntelemental health in the LMIC. Eight of these studieswere fromAsia. Eight of the studieswere interventional/randomized controlled\ntrials, and 11 examined general mental health issues. Videoconferencing was the most frequently (6) studied telemental modality.\nOther modalities studied were online decision support systems (3), text messaging and bibliotherapy (1), e-chatting combined\nwith videoconferencing (1), online therapy (2), e-counseling (1), store-and-forward technology (1), telephone follow-up (1), online\ndiscussion groups (1), audiovisual therapy and bibliotherapy (1), and computerized occupational therapy (1). Although many of\nthe studies showed that telemental services had positive outcomes, some studies reported no postintervention improvements.\nConclusion. The review shows a rising trend in telemental activity in the LMIC. There is a greater need for telemental health in\nthe LMIC, but more research is needed on empirical and theoretical aspects of telemental activity in the LMIC and on direct\ncomparisons between telemental activity in the LMIC and the non-LMIC.
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