Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37451721›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2023

Association between physician characteristics and practice-level uptake of paediatric virtual mental healthcare: a population-based study.

Natasha Ruth Saunders, Therese A Stukel, Rachel Strauss, Longdi Fu, Jun Guan, Eyal Cohen, Simone Vigod, Astrid Guttmann, Paul Kurdyak, Alene Toulany

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 31% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Natasha Ruth SaundersDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada natasha.saunders@sickkids.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-4369-6904
Therese A StukelICES, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Rachel StraussICES, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Longdi FuICES, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Jun GuanICES, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Eyal CohenDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-0112-7188
Simone VigodInsitute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Astrid GuttmannDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Paul KurdyakInsitute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-8115-7437
Alene ToulanyDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-1238-7049
University of Toronto · CAInstitute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences · CACentre for Addiction and Mental Health · CA

Funding

CIHR MS1-173069
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo examine physician factors associated with practice-level uptake of virtual mental healthcare for children and adolescents. DESIGN, SETTING AND

participantsA population-based data linkage study of a cohort of all physicians (n=12 054) providing outpatient mental healthcare to children and adolescents (aged 3-17 years, n=303 185) in a single-payer provincial health system in Ontario, Canada from 1 July 2020 to 31 July 2021. EXPOSURES: Physician characteristics including gender, age, specialty, location of training, practice region, practice size and overall and mental health practice size. MAIN OUTCOMES: Practice-level proportion of outpatient virtual care provided: (1) mostly in-person (<25% virtual care), (2) hybrid (25%-99% virtual care) or (3) exclusively virtual (100% virtual care). Multinomial logistic regression models tested the association between practice-level virtual care provided and physician characteristics.

resultsAmong physicians, 1589 (13.2%) provided mostly in-person mental healthcare with 8714 (67.8%) providing hybrid care, and 2291 (19.0%) providing exclusively virtual care. The provision of exclusive virtual care (vs mostly in-person) was associated with female sex (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.97, 95% CI 1.70 to 2.27 (ref: male)), foreign training (aOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.50 (ref: Canadian-trained)), family physicians (aOR 2.05, 95% CI 1.56 to 2.69 (ref: psychiatrist)) and reversely associated with large practice size (aOR 0.32, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.40 (ref smallest quintile)). Mostly in-person care was associated with older age physicians (71+ years) and practice outside the Toronto region. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In a single-payer universal healthcare system that remunerates physicians using the same fee structure for in-person and virtual outpatient care, there is heterogeneity in utilisation of virtual care that is associated with provider factors. This practice variation, with limited evidence on effectiveness and appropriate contexts for virtual care use, suggests there may be opportunity for further outcomes research and guidance on appropriate context for paediatric virtual mental healthcare delivery.

Indexed as

Mental Health ServicesPhysiciansAdolescentChildDelivery of Health CareFemaleHealth FacilitiesHumansMaleOntarioCOVID-19mental healthtelemedicine

Identifiers

PMID37451721
PMCPMC10350908
OpenAlexW4384344081

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.