63 TELEMEDICINE JOURNAL AND e-HEALTH Volume 9, Number 1, 2003 © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Rural Interdisciplinary Mental Health Team Building via Satellite: A Demonstration Project PETER A. CORNISH, Ph.D., 1 ELIZABETH CHURCH, Ph.D., 1 TERRENCE CALLANAN, M.D., 2 CHERI BETHUNE, M.D., 3 CARL ROBBINS, M.D., 4 and ROBERT MILLER, M.D. 3 ABSTRACT This paper reports on the results of a demonstration project that examined the role of tele- health/telemedicine (hereafter referred to as telehealth) in providing interdisciplinary men- tal health training and support to health professionals in a rural region of Atlantic Canada. Special emphasis was placed on addressing the question of how training might affect inter- disciplinary collaboration among the rural health professionals. Five urban mental health pro- fessionals from three disciplines provided training and support via video-satellite and inter- net, print and video resources to 34 rural health and community professionals. In order to assess the rural community’s needs and the impact of the interventions, questionnaires were administered and on-site interviews were conducted before and after the project. Through- out the project, field notes were recorded and satisfaction ratings were obtained. Satisfaction with the video-satellite presentations was high and stable, with the exception of one session when signal quality was very poor. Rural participants were most satisfied with opportunities for interaction and least satisfied with the variable quality of the video transmission signal. High staff turnover among rural professionals resulted in insufficient power to permit sta- tistical analysis. Positive reports of the project impact included expanded knowledge and heightened sensitivity to mental health issues, increased cross-disciplinary connections, and greater cohesion among professionals. The results suggest that, with some refinements, tele- health technology can be used to facilitate mental health training and promote interdiscipli- nary collaboration among professionals in a rural setting. 1 University Counselling Centre, Student Affairs and Services, 2 Discipline of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, 3 Dis- cipline of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, and 4 Discipline of Telemedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial Uni- versity of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. INTRODUCTION T YPICALLY, people living in rural communi- ties and remote areas have limited access to mental health services. 1,2 Without adequate mental health training and support, commu- nity members and existing health care profes- sionals often feel under prepared to manage the complex social, psychological and psychi- atric needs of their communities. 3 This adds a burden on health care providers, who fre- quently work in isolation. The impact is ap- parent from the high staff burnout, turnover and vacancy rates experienced in many rural communities and remote regions. 4–6 In an effort to increase health care produc-