Yang R, Vigod S, Hensel J. (2019). Optional web-based videoconferencing added to office-based care for women receiving psychotherapy during the postpartum period: Pilot randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 21(6): e13172. doi: 10.2196/13172
Researchers recruited 38 Canadian women less than 9 months postpartum with mood and/or anxiety symptoms to participate in a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the feasibility of video conferencing (VC) as a psychotherapy adjunct. Randomized participants received office-based treatment as usual (TAU) or treatment as usual plus video conferencing (TAU-VC) with access to office-based psychotherapy and the additional option of psychotherapy via VC (on Web-enabled personal devices). Researchers compared recruitment/retention, patient satisfaction, treatment attendance, and symptoms between groups. Most TAU-VC participants (74%) used VC at least once, and those who utilized VC and completed the Telemedicine Satisfaction Questionnaire (TSQ) agreed or strongly agreed that VC facilitated more frequent therapy sessions (82%) and reported high satisfaction with VC psychotherapy’s quality of care, comparability to in-person therapy, and interaction experience (an average 4.7 out of 5 on the TSQ). TAU-VC participants averaged 50% VC psychotherapy sessions and 50% office-based. Symptom outcomes and total number of sessions attended did not differ significantly between groups. At 3-month follow up, 78% of TAU-VC participants completed symptom questionnaires (as compared with 61% of the TAU group). All TAU-VC participants reported that they would miss the option of VC therapy at study termination. On average, TAU-VC participants saved 2.5 hours in preparation and transportation and $26.00 Canadian Dollars on childcare and transportation per appointment. Given the significant barriers to treatment (physical, psychological, and social) that postpartum women experience, videoconferencing may be a viable, flexible adjunct to psychotherapy for this population.