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A systematic review of telecounselling and its effectiveness in managing depression amongst minority ethnic communities

Telecounselling – the provision of counselling services by telephone, videoconferencing or Internet media – can assist with disparities in the treatment and management of depression for minority ethnic groups. We therefore reviewed the evidence examining the effectiveness of telecounselling for this population. This involved a search of electronic databases, the grey literature and two peer-reviewed journals. Study quality was examined using the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine guidelines. Cohen’s d effect sizes were additionally calculated for between-study comparisons. The final sample comprised eight independent studies, with a total of 498 adults of Asian, African-American or Spanish origin. None of the studies met the criteria for the highest methodological rating (Level 1) and there were five studies at Level 2. Significant short-term treatment effects were associated with telephone- and Internet-mediated services, including moderate to large improvements across measures of depression, anxiety, quality of life and psychosocial functioning reported. Longer-term treatment effects were also reported, although these results were based on very limited data. The results highlight the need for additional rigorous research to determine the clinical efficacy of telecounselling as a treatment option for depression among minority communities.