Novais, Mirlene Carvalho; https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2246-8726; http://lattes.cnpq.br/0287276852278516
Resumo:
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the need for adaptations and has accelerated the
acceptance and utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in psychological
services. The aim of this study was to describe how psychologists that work in the healthcare field
have adapted their work to operate through ICT from March 2020, and the professional
repercussions of this new practice for service strategies and work organization after the critical
period of the pandemic. This dissertation is part of the conclusion of the Professional Master's
Degree in Health Psychology in the Clinical Practices and Mental Health research line and consists
of three independent research papers. Research paper 1: A theoretical essay that discussed the
scenario of ICT use by psychologists in Brazil from a historical perspective, identifying trends and
gaps in research and professional regulation through document analysis, data collection from the
transparency portal of the Federal Psychology Council, and preliminary analyses of an integrative
review. It concluded that the regulation and the expansion of ICT use by psychologists in Brazil
are late when they are compared to other countries, influenced by social and market demands.
Research paper 2: An integrative review aimed at identifying and describing psychological
practices and interventions using ICT in the healthcare field within the Brazilian context. From the
analysis of 22 research papers published between 2006 and 2023, it concluded that the use of
technologies in psychological services emerged as a response to mental health care in the pandemic
context, with gaps in training and the need for ethical and technical reflections on the relation
between psychology and technology. Research paper 3: This research paper aimed at
investigating through an on-line questionnaire, with open and closed questions, how psychologists
work in the healthcare field has adapted their work to operate through ICT from March 2020, and
the repercussions of this practice. For quantitative analysis, non-parametric methods such as
Wilcoxon and Friedman tests for paired samples in different periods and Kruskal-Wallis and
Mann-Whitney tests for independent samples were used. Qualitative data were analyzed through
content analysis. The tests indicated a statistically significant difference in the frequency of
professional ICT use by healthcare psychologists in various use modalities before, during, and
after the pandemic, with higher frequency during the most severe period of physical distancing
measures. However, when comparing the periods before the pandemic and currently, the frequency
is higher in the current period. The analyses concluded that the profile of secondary use of
psychological services mediated by technologies has changed, with work organization nowinvolving the use of various technological tools and having new demands. In addition to the research papers, the products of this dissertation were: a) a Guide to assist psychologists working with ICT-mediated service provision; b) a Guide to assist users of these psychological services.
