title: Enhancing psychosocial care for people with cancer in rural communities: what can remote counselling offer?
abstract: Rural cancer patients are often disadvantaged in access to psychological services. We reviewed remote counselling research for psychological support using telephone, videoconferencing, and the Internet as a potential solution. Telephone counselling is the most extensively researched, while there are encouraging findings in emerging research about videoconferencing and Internet-based psychological care. Where no face-to-face psychological service exists, these technologies are promising, yet unproven. Less variable methods are needed to better assess the technology and therapeutic approach for stronger evidence.
authors.affiliation: Counselling Service, University of New South Wales, East Wing, Quadrangle Building, Kensington Campus, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia. l.shepherd@unsw.edu.au
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shepherd
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Olver
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parle
mesh_terms: D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D036262:Empirical Research; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000379:methods*; D019035:Rural Health Services; D049269:Videoconferencing