Protocol template
Protocol Template: Literature Review
1. Background
I. Important characteristics
What are the important population and/or characteristics (diagnostic criteria, minors -age/stage of development, adults on the Autism spectrum, etc.)?
It is necessary to examine several population characteristics to evaluate the impact of
Internet therapy on mental health. The first step towards this understanding should be the
diagnostic criteria for patients who seek Internet therapy. Different mental illnesses may respond
differently to online treatment. Online therapies treat anxiety and depression, while this
intervention may not help in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder cases. To assess the effectiveness
of internet therapy across different mental disorders, it is essential to stipulate the diagnostic
criteria of the study population.
Secondly, age and development affect online therapy. People’s reliance on virtual
communication, technological skills, and comfort change with age. Teens love digital connection;
hence, such treatment may sometimes be helpful. It can be less enjoyable for aged people due to
their levels of technology adoption and digital literacy; therefore, they tend to find online therapy
boring or irrelevant to them. This study carefully examines participants’ age and developmental
stages to determine how demographic issues affect online treatment throughout the life course.
Additionally, the autism spectrum is another key population characteristic. There are
peculiarities in autism which limit its applicability to internet-based therapies. Autism spectrum
influences how comfortable one may feel being around other people, sensory sensitivities and
communication. For that reason, it becomes essential to question whether it fits with people with
autism or not, given that it has been designed to focus on verbal and non-verbal communication
through a computer-mediated environment. Understanding how individuals within this community
experience online care can enhance the inclusive delivery of mental health services and allow for
targeted interventions.
________________________________________________________
II. Relevance
Does the review topic have important implications (individual and/or public), e. g. can be applied for education, health, business, etc.?
This analysis has important implications for public health and individual well-being when
comparing mental health services provided over the Internet versus face-to-face encounters. The
availability and use of e-therapy services will depend on their effectiveness concerning existing
conventional methods, including in–person therapy. This may be effective for mental health
patients if it is as effective as face-to-face therapy. However, in areas with inadequate mental
health infrastructure, long waiting times, transportation problems and social stigma can make in-
1
good. THis will be one of your inclusion criteria – mental health problem must involve either depression or anxiety, or both. Psychosis, PTSD, and personality disorders will be excluded (for example).
what age? Provide a citation and then set a cut-off age range. E. g., studies using participants if they aer over 70 years old are excluded.
good but references please.
this is its own study. I am doing a study similar to this (empirically) with an autistic population. They differ greatly and complexly – I recommend either focusing on this for your review, or removing it as it is TOO MUCH along with other conditions. I won’t’ forbid it, but I don’t want you to get in over your head.
this is actually a social psychology question, too.
Protocol template
person treatment difficult (Stewart et al., 2006). Understanding the benefits and challenges of
online therapies can make mental health treatment more personalized and accessible to patients.
From a broader perspective, Public health and policy are affected. If it works, policymakers
may consist of and encourage internet treatment as part of a comprehensive mental health care
strategy. To assure online therapy quality and accessibility, standards, legislation, and
reimbursement mechanisms may be created. This analysis may also inform resource allocation for
technological infrastructure, digital literacy programs, and mental health awareness campaigns
promoting online therapy interventions’ advantages and responsible use. Integrating mental
health into public health policy could improve mental health by addressing neglected populations.
III. Rationale
Does the evidence (including existing systematic reviews) fail to answer the review question, and why?
The data, including systematic reviews, fails to answer the review question of how online therapy
influences mental health outcomes, particularly compared to in-person therapy. Numerous studies
have examined online therapy’s efficacy in isolation, but systematic reviews generally have
drawbacks that limit comparisons. Many reviews focus on specific diagnostic categories, groups, or
outcome measures, fragmenting evidence. Some periodic evaluations may have been completed
early in the spread of online therapy platforms, missing contemporary technological advances and
demographic changes. The dynamic digital mental health ecosystem requires a more current
synthesis that includes online therapy’s changing methodologies and modalities. This review
examines the research, considering technological advances, varied demographic groupings, and
direct comparison with in-person therapy to fill these gaps. The study intends to improve
systematic reviews and provide significant insights into mental health research and practice by
providing a more complete and nuanced understanding of internet therapy’s efficacy.
IV. Justification
Is the need for the review justified in the light of the potential health or other implications and current limitations of the evidence base? What are the inclusion / exclusion criteria?
The considerable health consequences of mental health outcomes and the limitations of the
online therapy evidence base justify this extensive analysis. Individual, family, and societal well-
being depend on mental health. Understanding the best and most efficient therapeutic techniques
to address mental health issues is crucial due to their rising prevalence worldwide. Online
treatment should be compared with in-person therapy as it impacts on mental health care
accessibility, patient outcomes and resource allocation. Since the evidence base comprises many
studies with different methods and focuses, a comprehensive review is needed to synthesize and
2
are you suggesting online might buffer against some of these other issues with in-person? I agree it might.
great!
ok, but mostly focus on empirical studies and meta-analyses (systematic reviews aer ok, but they are a lot of information)
ok, but you can’t do it all ! Don’t get in over your head. I would focus on a few major differences, such as ability to feel comfortable disclosing over the internet, accessibility, etc. Otherwise you have hundreds of variables to consider. Keep working to narrow your focus, even though I know you want your study to be the one comprehensive one! Studies can’t really be feasibly done at such a scale, especially not in 16 weeks.
Protocol template
critically evaluate the existing knowledge to provide a more coherent and insightful perspective on
the comparative effectiveness of these therapeutic approaches.
To thoroughly review the relevant literature, this study’s inclusion criteria have been
carefully designed. Online therapy outcomes will be compared to in-person therapy first. This
criterion confirms the review’s relevance to the study subject and compares the efficacy of these
two therapy modalities. Additionally, including studies on a variety of mental health disorders and
diagnostic criteria allows a holistic grasp of online therapy’s applicability and efficacy. The review
includes studies on children, adolescents, adults, and older individuals to account for
developmental differences in therapy results.
However, strict exclusion criteria are necessary to ensure review quality and relevance. To
ensure the synthesis evidence’s robustness, studies with small sample sizes, no comparison group,
or low statistical power will be removed. Studies concentrating on specific subpopulations without
more significant implications for mental health care will be omitted to make the review applicable
to various therapy seekers. To ensure the evaluation includes the latest data, research published
before a specific timeframe is excluded due to rapid technological improvements and the changing
environment of digital mental health therapies.
Will you impose any additional limits, e.g. language, publication type, study design?
Further constraints will be added to the primary inclusion and exclusion criteria to narrow
the evaluation. Only English-language research will be included to ensure the review panel can
evaluate their quality and relevance. This decision is pragmatic since non-English papers may be
challenging to comprehend and synthesize, compromising review rigour. Peer-reviewed articles will
be prioritized to maintain study rigor. Grey literature, conference abstracts, and non-peer-reviewed
sources will be rejected for evidence quality. The evaluation will prioritize RCTs and systematic
reviews to ensure methodological rigour in the included papers. This additional constraint improves
the synthesis evidence’s quality and reliability, following mental health research systematic review
criteria.
_________________________________________________________________
3
good – just list these in your exclusion criteria, and indicate what counts as a small sample.
good. Make an informed decision about this based on a reference or two.
focus on meta-analyses and empirical studies as well as reviews.
Protocol template
How will study selection be performed (will you search and get a maximum number or
articles and then pare them down, or will you search for specifics and add on? For the
purposes of this project, you should use the former unless you have a god reason -talk
to your instructor!)?
I will search and get a maximum number of articles and then pare them down during the
study selection process. The initial search will include a systematic and comprehensive search of
PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar. This wide-ranging search method seeks as many relevant
studies as possible within the scope. Search terms include online therapy variations, mental health
outcomes, and in-person treatment comparisons. After gathering the articles, a rigorous screening
will follow predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. A thorough review of full-text articles
follows an initial evaluation of titles and abstracts to confirm alignment with the research topic and
quality requirements. The inclusion criteria will choose research directly comparing online versus
in-person therapy for diverse mental health disorders and age groups. This methodologically
rigorous assessment includes multiple viewpoints and synthesizes the information thoroughly and
nuancedly.
__________________________________________________________________________
Topic: Examining how online therapy affects people’s mental health outcomes, specifically
emphasizing how effective it is compared to traditional in-person therapy.
Important Variables:
Diagnostic Criteria
Age and Developmental Stage
Autism Spectrum
Search Terms:
Online therapy mental health outcomes
Telepsychiatry effectiveness
Internet-based interventions for mental health 4
good. Do your best to access paywall articles, but do not pay for them. If you can’t get through them, list that as a limitation for every article you cannot access.
good! Specify…
specify outcomes, and therapy types. Hypnosis, for example, is less common. I would go for more typical (and more often studied) therapy types. With Autism you’d want to include ABA, but that isn’t’ done online to my knowledge. ALso, there is quite a bit of trauma related to some therapies, including ABA for those on the spectrum.
Protocol template
Comparative analysis virtual therapy and in-person therapy
Links
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036034
https://doi.org/10.4018/IJHISI.295820
https://doi.org/10.4018/IJHISI.295820
5
https://doi.org/10.4018/IJHISI.295820
https://doi.org/10.4018/IJHISI.295820
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036034
Links
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