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LiteratureReviewTopicIdentification2.docx

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Literature Review Topic Identification

Jameire Jordan

Liberty University

May 21, 2026

Literature Review Topic Identification

Topic Relevance to Health Sciences and Cognate

The topic for this literature review will be the effect of telehealth intervention on mental health outcomes for the rural population. This topic is strongly connected to the health sciences in that mental health services are an integral part of healthcare and public health practice. Telehealth has played a vital role in expanding access to health services, particularly for those populations who are underserved and face challenges in accessing services including geographic isolation, provider shortages, and transportation issues. Using telehealth technologies in mental health care has a direct impact on patient outcomes, delivery of healthcare quality, and accessibility to healthcare.

This topic is also connected to the cognate area of healthcare administration since healthcare leaders and administrators are critical in the implementation of telehealth systems, creation of healthcare policies, and management of healthcare resources. Administrators must be able to make sure that telehealth programs are effective, available and legal in the healthcare context. To inform healthcare administrators about the impact of telehealth on mental health outcomes can help them make informed decisions about resource allocation, staffing, etc., and expand services in rural healthcare settings.

The journal article chosen for this assignment was a peer-reviewed article that studied the effectiveness of telehealth counseling services for adults in rural areas (Rush et al., 2022). The study consisted of introduction, literature review, research methods, results, discussion and conclusions. The article highlighted a need for further research on long-term patient outcomes and patient satisfaction with mental health telehealth.

Gap in the Literature

The literature review revealed that there were few long-term studies that focused on the effectiveness of telehealth mental health interventions for rural populations. Although previous research has shown that telehealth can enhance access to counselling and therapy services in the short term, little research exists on how long telehealth services affect patient recovery, treatment adherence, and quality of life.

Most studies in the past were narrow in scope to address only short-term effects or small patient populations. Consequently, it is not yet fully known if there are lasting benefits from these mental health programs over the long-term. This is why future research is needed to explore the long-term impacts of telehealth services with different rural populations.

The literature review helped to shape the researchable gap in two significant ways. First, the literature review confirmed that in recent years, there is a growing trend of telehealth. The review did uncover some inconsistencies in findings regarding patient engagement and continued treatment, however. Several studies found high levels of satisfaction, and others indicated a lack of personal relationships between providers and patients or technology issues were responsible for patients dropping out of treatment (Witkowski et al., 2024). These discrepancies underscored the need for additional research to explore the long-term effectiveness of mental health THTs.

Second, the literature review revealed that there were existing gaps in diversity in previous studies. Numerous studies have concentrated on urban communities or healthcare services in general, but not specifically on the mental health patients in rural areas. This restriction helped to develop the research question, as it was important to investigate how telehealth impacts on individuals who reside in rural areas and may have a different set of healthcare barriers.

The research question that emerged from the literature review was: What is the effect of telehealth mental health interventions on long term treatment outcomes for adults in a rural community? This is a research question, as it involves a very specific population, intervention, and measurable outcomes.

Constructive feedback on the Literature Review and Critical feedback on the Literature Review

While the literature review recognized that healthcare disparities exist in rural communities, it did not fully explore the role of cultural beliefs, education or income status could be a factor in telehealth participation. Incorporating these factors into the picture would give a more complete picture of barriers to mental health treatment.

The second feedback concerns with the absence of integration of the theoretical framework. The literature review was effective in summarizing several studies, but did not clearly relate the research to a healthcare and/or behavioral theory. The Health Belief Model or the Technology Acceptance Model can be integrated to enhance the analysis, as it would explain the reason behind patients' decision to participate in telehealth services (Paganin et al., 2023).

The third aspect of feedback relates to the restricted discussion around technology infrastructure issues. The review made brief reference to access to the internet, but did not sufficiently discuss the challenges of poor broadband connectivity for treatment continuity in rural areas. Further research and discussion of this topic could enhance the literature review, as access to technology is one of the key determinants of the effectiveness of telehealth services.

Identify a subject for a literature review.

The subject of the literature review is the sustained impact of mental health tele-interventions on the adults in rural communities. This topic was presented as a suggestion for future research in the journal article, and the authors were interested in studying long-term outcomes for patients and the factors that could be causing patients to not continue with telehealth counseling programs.

The proposed topic is related to the original journal article, both of which are related to telehealth and mental health care in rural people. But the proposed topic is different as it focuses on the long-term treatment outcomes and not on short term satisfaction of the patients or the availability of treatment.

The importance of this topic is that mental health disorders are still prevalent among millions of people and that there are fewer healthcare providers in rural areas (World Health Organization, 2022). The sustained impact of telehealth services can drive healthcare organizations to refine treatment approaches, combat health disparities, and enhance mental health support systems.

The proposed study seeks to address the gap in the literature concerning the sustainability of telehealth mental health interventions. Future studies will be able to offer insights into treatment adherence, patient satisfaction and mental health improvements based on long-term patient outcomes.

In the biblical Perspective, healthcare providers are expected to demonstrate care and respect in the service of others. Supporting those with mental health issues is important, as it is taught in Galatians 6:2 that believers are to “carry each other's burdens.” Expanding telehealth mental health services is consistent with the Christian values of caring, service, and care for the weak.

References

Bible, H. (1966). The holy bible. Trinitarian Bible Society.

Paganin, G., Margheritti, S., Farhane-Medina, N. Z., Simbula, S., & Mazzetti, G. (2023, November). Health, stress and technologies: Integrating technology acceptance and health belief models for smartphone-based stress intervention. In Healthcare (Vol. 11, No. 23, p. 3030). MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/23/3030

Rush, K. L., Singh, S., Seaton, C. L., Burton, L., Li, E., Jones, C., ... & Janke, R. (2022). Telehealth use for enhancing the health of rural older adults: A systematic mixed studies review. The Gerontologist, 62(10), e564-e577. https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article-pdf/62/10/e564/47458480/gnab141.pdf?casa_token=PlH4tOccuYMAAAAA:8WreH_fM3hSTWrP76z-cD1ZnxKO6t7ZbE90uVdD9Oy7L49E6tHNyuvvIJJe0QJFrOlc8-uKTMisFKw

Witkowski, K., Dougherty, R. B., & Neely, S. R. (2024). Public perceptions of artificial intelligence in healthcare: ethical concerns and opportunities for patient-centered care. BMC Medical Ethics, 25(1), 74. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12910-024-01066-4.pdf

World Health Organization. (2022). World mental health report: Transforming mental health for all. World Health Organization. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lnkOEQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR10&dq=mental+health+disorders+are+still+prevalent+among+millions+of+people+and+that+there+are+fewer+healthcare+providers+in+rural+areas&ots=TTk4UPQs-q&sig=qpvy_EFZhMUfwTU8Y3vCtjmjYOA

LiteratureReviewFinalDraftAssignmentInstructions.docx

HSCI 702

Literature Review: Final Draft Assignment Instructions

Overview

The breadth and depth of a Literature Review is foundational to a good dissertation. Investing time in developing a focused and comprehensive literature review will prepare you to think critically about the research question (singular), methodologies, and data collection and analysis, thereby laying a solid foundation for your dissertation. Using feedback from prior assignments, you will synthesize relevant peer-reviewed literature to create a final draft of the literature review that identifies key themes, evaluates existing research, and highlights the gap (singular) in knowledge. You will demonstrate that the literature has been synthesized and not merely summarized.

Instructions

The use of artificial intelligence tools to generate, compose, or outsource any portion of your written work is strictly prohibited. Submitting AI‑produced or AI‑assisted writing constitutes a violation of the academic integrity expectations for this doctoral course. All submissions must reflect your own original scholarly analysis and writing.

Do not merely copy and paste from prior assignments or the initial draft of your literature review. This is a final draft that incorporates feedback and course content from past weeks and demonstrates a robust review of the literature. While some references may be the same, the content of your paper should be robust as the assignment prompts are different.

Using the elements below at a minimum, write an essay of at least 4-7 pages in current APA format. Page counts do not include front matter and back matter.

Submit the literature review as a Word document. Your essay should be clear, have a logical flow, and be organized in level headings per current APA format and per textbook readings.

As stated above, be sure to include the following within your final draft at a minimum:

· Clearly state the objectives and purpose of the literature review. The introduction should contextualize the literature review within the broader scope of the dissertation.

· Synthesize findings from relevant scholarly literature.

· Analyze the key themes, theories, methodologies, and empirical findings emerging from the literature.

· Provide critical evaluation and synthesis of existing research to identify strengths, weaknesses, and the gap (singular). You must integrate findings from various sources to construct a cohesive narrative.

· Use appropriate in-text citations and references to acknowledge the contributions of each source.

· Ensure proper citation formatting according to the required citation style, APA current edition.

· Identify the gap (singular) and inconsistencies in the literature that warrant further investigation.

· Discuss the research question (singular) and any unresolved areas lacking sufficient research attention.

· Conclude the literature review with a summary of key findings and insights derived from the synthesized literature.

· Reflect on the implications of the literature review for the dissertation research.

· Suggest potential avenues for future research based on the identified gap (singular) based on your review of literature on the area of interest.

· The assignment should be written in APA current edition format. All doctoral students must use the professional version. More information can be found at these links: https://www.liberty.edu/casas/academic-success-center/writing-style-guides/apa-guide/

https://www.liberty.edu/casas/academic-success-center/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2020/04/Sample-Paper-APA-7th-professional-version-06172020.pdf

A minimum of 10 sources are required in addition to the Galvan and Galvan course text and the Bible both of which must be used and cited. Biblical integration must be present. The sources used should generally be ones you used within the initial draft assignment. You may add some sources to and remove some sources from the Initial Draft assignment. However, be sure to meet you meet the source requirements for this assignment.

Acceptable sources include peer-reviewed sources published within the last five years (current year, plus prior 4 years) and seminal works for the theoretical framework (which can be more than 5 years old). You may include older articles provided you also meet the minimum requirement for 10 peer-reviewed sources published within the past 5 years (current year plus prior 4 years). If you exclude older articles, you may miss important information.

For all assignments in this course, you are expected to demonstrate progression by incorporating instructor feedback from prior assignments in this course.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

At this stage in your doctoral journey, and specifically for this course, do not use the following or any secondary sources in your reference list: systematic reviews, integrative reviews, scoping reviews, and meta‑analyses. These are secondary sources, and citing them is essentially the same as citing a review of other studies, rather than the original research.

For your assignments, you must rely on primary, peer‑reviewed research articles. Primary sources report original data, methods, and findings, and these are essential for developing the critical research skills needed at the doctoral level. You may read systematic reviews and other secondary sources to help you understand your topic more broadly. However, if you come across useful studies within those reviews, locate and cite the original (primary) research articles from the reference lists rather than citing the review itself.

At this stage in your doctoral journey, you are in the coursework phase. Coursework prepares you for the dissertation phase, but it is not a substitute for the work required once you begin your dissertation. When you enter the dissertation phase, you will follow the direction and expectations of your Dissertation Chair. For now, please complete all assignments according to the requirements of this course, knowing that dissertation‑level guidance will come later from the Chair of your dissertation committee.

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