Can participatory processes lead to changes in the configuration of local mental health networks? A social network analysis.

Systems modeling offers a valuable tool to support strategic decision-making for complex problems because it considers the causal inter-relationships that drive population health outcomes. This tool can be used to simulate policies and initiatives to determine which combinations are likely to deliver the greatest impacts and returns on investment. Systems modeling benefits from participatory approaches where a multidisciplinary stakeholder group actively engages in mapping and contextualizing causal mechanisms driving complex system behaviors. Such approaches can have significant advantages, including that they may improve connection and coordination of the network of stakeholders operating across the system; however, these are often observed in practice as colloquial anecdotes and seldom formally assessed. We used a basic social network analysis to explore the impact on the configuration of the network of mental health providers, decision-makers, and other stakeholders in Bogota, Colombia active in a series of three workshops throughout 2021 and 2022. Overall, our analysis suggests that the participatory process of the systems dynamics exercise impacts the social network's structure, relationships, and dynamics.

Effectiveness of a Patient-Centered Assessment With a Solution-Focused Approach (DIALOG-A) in the Routine Care of Colombian Adolescents With Depression and Anxiety: Protocol for a Multicenter Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Colombia is a middle-income country in South America, which has historically had high rates of mental health problems, coupled with a scarcity of mental health care. There is growing concern for the mental health of the adolescent population within this region. There is a significant treatment gap for young people, especially those living in the most vulnerable areas. DIALOG+ is a low-cost patient-centered intervention that can potentially improve the delivery of care and quality of life for adolescents with mental health problems. OBJECTIVE: This exploratory randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness, acceptability, and feasibility of an adapted version of the DIALOG+ intervention (DIALOG-A) in the community treatment of Colombian adolescents with depression and anxiety. METHODS: In total, 18 clinicians and 108 adolescents will be recruited from primary health care services in Bogota and Duitama, Colombia. Clinicians will be randomized 2:1 to either the intervention (12 clinicians:72 adolescents) or control group (6 clinicians:36 adolescents). In the intervention arm, clinicians will use DIALOG-A with adolescents once per month over 6 months. The control arm will continue to receive routine care. Outcomes will be measured at baseline, 6 months, and 9 months following randomization. Semistructured interviews with all clinicians and a subset of adolescents in the intervention arm will be conducted at the end of the intervention period. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data will be conducted. RESULTS: Trial recruitment was completed toward the end of October 2022, and follow-up is anticipated to last through to October 2023. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to test an adapted resource-orientated intervention (DIALOG-A) in the treatment of adolescents with depression and anxiety attending primary care services. If the results are positive, DIALOG-A can be implemented in the routine care of adolescents with these mental health problems and provide valuable insight to other middle-income countries. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN13980767; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN13980767?q=ISRCTN13980767. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/43401.

Stakeholder perspectives on a patient-centred intervention (DIALOG+) for adolescents with common mental disorders in Colombia: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Patient and stakeholders' involvement in the development of mental health interventions is a central part of the research process as end-user's input can improve the design of patient-centered interventions. This is particularly important when developing interventions directed towards improving the mental health of children and adolescents. The rising prevalence of mental health disorders in this population requires special attention and the development of interventions that include them as active participants is crucial. OBJECTIVE: Our aim is to explore the perspectives and opinions of adolescents, parents, educators/youth workers, and clinicians regarding the appeal and usability of an existing patient-centered digital intervention (DIALOG+), which aims to improve quality of life. METHODS: As part of a broader study aiming to adapt and test DIALOG+, we conducted Online Focus Groups (OFGs) with adults and adolescents in two cities in Colombia. The existing DIALOG+ intervention was introduced to participants, followed by a structured discussion regarding the opinions and views of stakeholders. A framework approach was used to identify the main themes followed by content analysis to aid adaptation. RESULTS: We conducted 10 OFGs with a total of 45 participants. A positive feature highlighted by all groups was the innovation of including a digital intervention in a traditional medical visit. Additionally, participants considered that the active role that adolescents have when using the intervention empowers them. Barriers identified included concerns from clinicians related to the time required during consultations and confusion with terminology. Furthermore, additional domains that are particularly relevant for the adolescent population were suggested. CONCLUSIONS: Data obtained suggest that overall, the DIALOG+ intervention and supporting app are seen as innovative and appealing to adolescents as well as adult stakeholders. However, concerns raised about the availability of time to apply the intervention, the app interface and the language and terminology require modification.

Correction: Using Participatory Design Methodologies to Co-Design and Culturally Adapt the Spanish Version of the Mental Health eClinic: Qualitative Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/14127.].

Informing the Future of Integrated Digital and Clinical Mental Health Care: Synthesis of the Outcomes From Project Synergy.

BACKGROUND: Globally, there are fundamental shortcomings in mental health care systems, including restricted access, siloed services, interventions that are poorly matched to service users' needs, underuse of personal outcome monitoring to track progress, exclusion of family and carers, and suboptimal experiences of care. Health information technologies (HITs) hold great potential to improve these aspects that underpin the enhanced quality of mental health care. OBJECTIVE: Project Synergy aimed to co-design, implement, and evaluate novel HITs, as exemplified by the InnoWell Platform, to work with standard health care organizations. The goals were to deliver improved outcomes for specific populations under focus and support organizations to enact significant system-level reforms. METHODS: Participating health care organizations included the following: Open Arms-Veterans & Families Counselling (in Sydney and Lismore, New South Wales [NSW]); NSW North Coast headspace centers for youth (Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Lismore, and Tweed Heads); the Butterfly Foundation's National Helpline for eating disorders; Kildare Road Medical Centre for enhanced primary care; and Connect to Wellbeing North Coast NSW (administered by Neami National), for population-based intake and assessment. Service users, families and carers, health professionals, and administrators of services across Australia were actively engaged in the configuration of the InnoWell Platform to meet service needs, identify barriers to and facilitators of quality mental health care, and highlight potentially the best points in the service pathway to integrate the InnoWell Platform. The locally configured InnoWell Platform was then implemented within the respective services. A mixed methods approach, including surveys, semistructured interviews, and workshops, was used to evaluate the impact of the InnoWell Platform. A participatory systems modeling approach involving co-design with local stakeholders was also undertaken to simulate the likely impact of the platform in combination with other services being considered for implementation within the North Coast Primary Health Network to explore resulting impacts on mental health outcomes, including suicide prevention. RESULTS: Despite overwhelming support for integrating digital health solutions into mental health service settings and promising impacts of the platform simulated under idealized implementation conditions, our results emphasized that successful implementation is dependent on health professional and service readiness for change, leadership at the local service level, the appropriateness and responsiveness of the technology for the target end users, and, critically, funding models being available to support implementation. The key places of interoperability of digital solutions and a willingness to use technology to coordinate health care system use were also highlighted. CONCLUSIONS: Although the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the widespread acceptance of very basic digital health solutions, Project Synergy highlights the critical need to support equity of access to HITs, provide funding for digital infrastructure and digital mental health care, and actively promote the use of technology-enabled, coordinated systems of care.

Research to Clinical Practice-Youth seeking mental health information online and its impact on the first steps in the patient journey.

BACKGROUND: Online searches about anxiety and depression are recorded every 3-5 s. As such, information and communication technologies (ICT) have enormous potential to enable or impair help-seeking and patient-professional interactions. Youth studies indicate that ICT searches are undertaken before initial mental health consultations, but no publications have considered how this online activity affects the first steps of the patient journey in youth mental health settings. METHODS: State-of-the-art review using an iterative, evidence mapping approach to identify key literature and expert consensus to synthesize and prioritise clinical and research issues. RESULTS: Adolescents and young adults are more likely to seek health advice via online search engines or social media platforms than from a health professional. Young people not only search user-generated content and social media to obtain advice and support from online communities but increasingly contribute personal information online. CONCLUSIONS: A major clinical challenge is to raise professional awareness of the likely impact of this activity on mental health consultations. Potential strategies range from modifying the structure of clinical consultations to ensure young people are able to disclose ICT activities related to mental health, through to the development and implementation of 'internet prescriptions' and a youth-focused 'toolkit'.

Mental health and psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures among young adults in Bogotá, Colombia.

We sought to explore mental health and psychosocial impact among young people (18 to 24 years old) in Bogotá during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We carried a cross sectional study using a web-based survey to assess mental health and personal impact among 18 to 24 years old living in Bogotá during the first 4 months of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The depressive symptoms were measured with PHQ-8 and anxiety symptoms with (GAD-7). We also designed a questionnaire exploring changes in personal, family and social life. Results: Overall, 23% of the sample (n = 834) reported mild depressive symptoms (males 24% and females 23%); 29% reported moderate depressive symptoms (males 28%, females 30%); 22% moderate-severe symptoms (males 20%, females 23%) and 17% severe symptoms (males 15%, females 17%). Mild anxiety symptoms were reported by 29% of the sample (males 30%, females 29%); moderate anxiety symptoms by 29% (males 26%, females 30%); moderate-severe 18% (males 15%, females 20%) and severe anxiety by 6.0% (males 6.0% and females 6.0%). High symptoms of depression (PHQ-8 ≥ 10) were associated with being female, considering that the quarantine was stressful, having one member of the family losing their job, worsening of family relationships, decrease of physical activity and having a less nutritious diet. Having high anxiety symptoms (GAD-7 ≥ 10) were associated with sometimes not having enough money to buy food. Conclusions: The first months of the pandemic lockdown were associated with high depressive and anxiety symptoms among young persons living in Bogotá, Colombia. Increasing public health measures to provide support for young people is needed during lockdowns and it is necessary to further explore the long-term mental health impact due to personal, family and social changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adapting a Mental Health Intervention for Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Web-Based Synchronous Focus Group Study.

BACKGROUND: Although focus groups are a valuable qualitative research tool, face-to-face meetings may be difficult to arrange and time consuming. This challenge has been further compounded by the global COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown and physical distancing measures implemented, which caused exceptional challenges to human activities. Online focus groups (OFGs) are an example of an alternative strategy and require further study. At present, OFGs have mostly been studied and used in high-income countries, with little information relating to their implementation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to share our experiences of conducting OFGs through a web conferencing service and provide recommendations for future research. METHODS: As part of a broader study, OFGs were developed with adults and adolescents in Colombia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a convenience sampling method, we invited eligible participants via email in two different cities of Colombia to participate in OFGs conducted via Microsoft Teams. Researcher notes and discussion were used to capture participant and facilitator experiences, as well as practical considerations. RESULTS: Technical issues were encountered, but various measures were taken to minimize them, such as using a web conferencing service that was familiar to participants, sending written instructions, and performing a trial meeting prior to the OFG. Adolescent participants, unlike their adult counterparts, were fluent in using web conferencing platforms and did not encounter technical challenges. CONCLUSIONS: OFGs have great potential in research settings, especially during the current and any future public health emergencies. It is important to keep in mind that even with the advantages that they offer, technical issues (ie, internet speed and access to technology) are major obstacles in LMICs. Further research is required and should carefully consider the appropriateness of OFGs in different settings.

Participatory Design of an Activities-Based Collective Mentoring Program in After-School Care Settings: Connect, Promote, and Protect Program.

BACKGROUND: Out of school hours care (OSHC) services provide a unique opportunity to deliver early intervention programs to enhance primary school-aged children's social, emotional, physical, and cognitive well-being; however, such programs are currently lacking. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to address the lack of well-being programs for children accessing OSHC services in the research literature by using participatory design (PD) to collaboratively develop and test an OSHC well-being program-the connect, promote, and protect program (CP3). METHODS: The study employed methods of PD, user (acceptance) testing, and iterative knowledge translation to develop a novel well-being program framework-CP3-with key stakeholders (eg, children, OSHC staff, volunteers, families, clinicians, educators, and researchers). Thematic techniques were used to interpret and translate the qualitative information obtained during the research and design cycles. RESULTS: The co-design process generated the CP3 model, which comprises a group-based mentoring approach to facilitate enhanced activities in OSHC settings. Activities are underpinned by 4 key principles of program delivery: build well-being and resilience, broaden horizons, inspire and engage, and connect communities. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, the CP3 program is the first co-designed well-being program developed specifically for OSHC services. This co-design process is key to ensuring local community needs-particularly those of young people accessing OSHC-are met and that these individuals are meaningfully and actively involved in all stages of the research and design process, from conception to implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement.

Involving End Users in Adapting a Spanish Version of a Web-Based Mental Health Clinic for Young People in Colombia: Exploratory Study Using Participatory Design Methodologies.

BACKGROUND: Health information technologies (HITs) hold enormous promise for improving access to and providing better quality of mental health care. However, despite the spread of such technologies in high-income countries, these technologies have not yet been commonly adopted in low- and middle-income countries. People living in these parts of the world are at risk of experiencing physical, technological, and social health inequalities. A possible solution is to utilize the currently available HITs developed in other counties. OBJECTIVE: Using participatory design methodologies with Colombian end users (young people, their supportive others, and health professionals), this study aimed to conduct co-design workshops to culturally adapt a Web-based Mental Health eClinic (MHeC) for young people, perform one-on-one user-testing sessions to evaluate an alpha prototype of a Spanish version of the MHeC and adapt it to the Colombian context, and inform the development of a skeletal framework and alpha prototype for a Colombian version of the MHeC (MHeC-C). METHODS: This study involved the utilization of a research and development (R&D) cycle including 4 iterative phases: co-design workshops; knowledge translation; tailoring to language, culture, and place (or context); and one-on-one user-testing sessions. RESULTS: A total of 2 co-design workshops were held with 18 users-young people (n=7) and health professionals (n=11). Moreover, 10 users participated in one-on-one user-testing sessions-young people (n=5), supportive others (n=2), and health professionals (n=3). A total of 204 source documents were collected and 605 annotations were coded. A thematic analysis resulted in 6 themes (ie, opinions about the MHeC-C, Colombian context, functionality, content, user interface, and technology platforms). Participants liked the idea of having an MHeC designed and adapted for Colombian young people, and its 5 key elements were acceptable in this context (home page and triage system, self-report assessment, dashboard of results, booking and video-visit system, and personalized well-being plan). However, to be relevant in Colombia, participants stressed the need to develop additional functionality (eg, phone network backup; chat; geolocation; and integration with electronic medical records, apps, or electronic tools) as well as an adaptation of the self-report assessment. Importantly, the latter not only included language but also culture and context. CONCLUSIONS: The application of an R&D cycle that also included processes for adaptation to Colombia (language, culture, and context) resulted in the development of an evidence-based, language-appropriate, culturally sensitive, and context-adapted HIT that is relevant, applicable, engaging, and usable in both the short and long term. The resultant R&D cycle allowed for the adaptation of an already available HIT (ie, MHeC) to the MHeC-C-a low-cost and scalable technology solution for low- and middle-income countries like Colombia, which has the potential to provide young people with accessible, available, affordable, and integrated mental health care at the right time.

Project Synergy: co-designing technology-enabled solutions for Australian mental health services reform.

Project Synergy aims to test the potential of new and emerging technologies to enhance the quality of mental health care provided by traditional face-to-face services. Specifically, it seeks to ensure that consumers get the right care, first time (delivery of effective mental health care early in the course of illness). Using co-design with affected individuals, Project Synergy has built, implemented and evaluated an online platform to assist the assessment, feedback, management and monitoring of people with mental disorders. It also promotes the maintenance of wellbeing by collating health and social information from consumers, their supportive others and health professionals. This information is reported back openly to consumers and their service providers to promote genuine collaborative care. The online platform does not provide stand-alone medical or health advice, risk assessment, clinical diagnosis or treatment; instead, it supports users to decide what may be suitable care options. Using an iterative cycle of research and development, the first four studies of Project Synergy (2014-2016) involved the development of different types of online prototypes for young people (i) attending university; (ii) in three disadvantaged communities in New South Wales; (iii) at risk of suicide; and (iv) attending five headspace centres. These contributed valuable information concerning the co-design, build, user testing and evaluation of prototypes, as well as staff experiences during development and service quality improvements following implementation. Through ongoing research and development (2017-2020), these prototypes underpin one online platform that aims to support better multidimensional mental health outcomes for consumers; more efficient, effective and appropriate use of health professional knowledge and clinical skills; and quality improvements in mental health service delivery.

Using Participatory Design Methodologies to Co-Design and Culturally Adapt the Spanish Version of the Mental Health eClinic: Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: The Mental Health eClinic (MHeC) aims to deliver best-practice clinical services to young people experiencing mental health problems by making clinical care accessible, affordable, and available to young people whenever and wherever they need it most. The original MHeC consists of home page with a visible triage system for those requiring urgent help; a online physical and mental health self-report assessment; a results dashboard; a booking and videoconferencing system; and the generation of a personalized well-being plan. Populations who do not speak English and reside in English-speaking countries are less likely to receive mental health care. In Australia, international students have been identified as disadvantaged compared with their peers; have weaker social support networks; and have higher rates of psychological distress. This scenario is acquiring significant relevance as Spanish-speaking migration is rapidly growing in Australia, and the mental health services for culturally and linguistically diverse populations are limited. Having a Spanish version (MHeC-S) of the Mental Health eClinic would greatly benefit these students. OBJECTIVE: We used participatory design methodologies with users (young people aged 16-30 years, supportive others, and health professionals) to (1) conduct workshops with users to co-design and culturally adapt the MHeC; (2) inform the development of the MHeC-S alpha prototype; (3) test the usability of the MHeC-S alpha prototype; (4) translate, culturally adapt, and face-validate the MHeC-S self-report assessment; and (5) collect information to inform its beta prototype. METHODS: A research and development cycle included several participatory design phases: co-design workshops; knowledge translation; language translation and cultural adaptation; and rapid prototyping and user testing of the MHeC-S alpha prototype. RESULTS: We held 2 co-design workshops with 17 users (10 young people, 7 health professionals). A total of 15 participated in the one-on-one user testing sessions (7 young people, 5 health professionals, 3 supportive others). We collected 225 source documents, and thematic analysis resulted in 5 main themes (help-seeking barriers, technology platform, functionality, content, and user interface). A random sample of 106 source documents analyzed by 2 independent raters revealed almost perfect agreement for functionality (kappa=.86; P<.001) and content (kappa=.92; P<.001) and substantial agreement for the user interface (kappa=.785; P<.001). In this random sample, no annotations were coded for help-seeking barriers or the technology platform. Language was identified as the main barrier to getting medical or psychological services, and smartphones were the most-used device to access the internet. Acceptability was adequate for the prototype's 5 main elements: home page and triage system, self-report assessment, dashboard of results, booking and video visit system, and personalized well-being plan. The data also revealed gaps in the alpha prototype, such as the need for tailored assessment tools and a greater integration with Spanish-speaking services and communities. Spanish-language apps and e-tools, as well as online mental health information, were lacking. CONCLUSIONS: Through a research and development process, we co-designed and culturally adapted, developed and user tested, and evaluated the MHeC-S. By translating and culturally adapting the MHeC to Spanish, we aimed to increase accessibility and availability of e-mental health care in the developing world, and assist vulnerable populations that have migrated to English-speaking countries.

Developing neurocognitive standard clinical care: A study of young adult inpatients.

Neuropsychological assessments have provided the field of psychiatry with important information about patients. As an assessment tool, a neuropsychological battery can be useful in a clinical setting; however, implementation as standard clinical care in an inpatient unit has not been extensively evaluated. A computerized cognitive battery was administered to 103 current young adult inpatients (19.2 ±â€¯3.1 years; 72% female) with affective disorder. Neurocognitive tasks included Verbal Recognition Memory (VRM), Attention Switching (AST), Paired Association Learning (PAL), and Rapid Visual Processing (RVP). Patients also completed a computerized self-report questionnaire evaluating subjective impressions of their cognition. Hierarchical cluster analysis determined three neurocognitive subgroups: cluster 1 (n = 17) showed a more impaired neurocognitive profile on three of the four variables compared to their peers in cluster 2 (n = 59), and cluster 3 (n = 27), who had the most impaired attentional shifting. Two of the four neurocognitive variables were significantly different between all three cluster groups (verbal learning and sustained attention). Overall group results showed an association between poorer sustained attention and increased suicidal ideation. These findings strengthen the idea that neurocognitive profiles may play an important role in better understanding the severity of illness in young inpatients with major psychiatric disorders.

Neurocognitive clusters: A pilot study of young people with affective disorders in an inpatient facility.

BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence to support the need for personalised intervention in the early stages of a major psychiatric illness, as well as the clear delineation of subgroups in psychiatric disorders based on cognitive impairment. Affective disorders are often accompanied by neurocognitive deficits; however a lack of research among young adult inpatients highlights the need to assess the utility of cognitive testing in this population. METHODS: A computerised cognitive battery was administered to 50 current inpatient young adults (16-30 years; 75% female) with an affective disorder. Patients also completed a computerised self-report questionnaire (to measure demographics and clinical features) that included items evaluating subjective impressions of their cognition. RESULTS: Hierarchical cluster analysis determined two neurocognitive subgroups: cluster 1 (n = 16) showed more severe impairments in sustained attention and memory as well as higher anxiety levels, compared to their peers in cluster 2 (n = 30) who showed the most impaired attentional switching. Across the sample, poor sustained attention was significantly correlated with higher levels of current anxiety and depressive symptoms, whereas poor verbal memory was significantly associated with increased psychological distress. LIMITATIONS: This study has a relatively small sample size (due to it being a pilot/feasibility study). Furthermore, future studies should aim to assess inpatient samples compared to community care samples, as well as healthy controls, on a larger scale. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest neurocognitive profiles are important in understanding phenotypes within young people with severe affective disorders. With clear subgroups based on cognitive impairment being demonstrated, the clinical utility and use of new and emerging technologies is warranted in such inpatients facilities. This pilot/feasibility study has strengthened the utility of cognitive screening as standard clinical care in an inpatient unit.

Using New and Innovative Technologies to Assess Clinical Stage in Early Intervention Youth Mental Health Services: Evaluation Study.

BACKGROUND: Globally there is increasing recognition that new strategies are required to reduce disability due to common mental health problems. As 75% of mental health and substance use disorders emerge during the teenage or early adulthood years, these strategies need to be readily accessible to young people. When considering how to provide such services at scale, new and innovative technologies show promise in augmenting traditional clinic-based services. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to test new and innovative technologies to assess clinical stage in early intervention youth mental health services using a prototypic online system known as the Mental Health eClinic (MHeC). METHODS: The online assessment within the MHeC was compared directly against traditional clinician assessment within 2 Sydney-based youth-specific mental health services (headspace Camperdown and headspace Campbelltown). A total of 204 young people were recruited to the study. Eligible participants completed both face-to-face and online assessments, which were randomly allocated and counterbalanced at a 1-to-3 ratio. These assessments were (1) a traditional 45- to 60-minute headspace face-to-face assessment performed by a Youth Access Clinician and (2) an approximate 60-minute online assessment (including a self-report Web-based survey, immediate dashboard of results, and a video visit with a clinician). All assessments were completed within a 2-week timeframe from initial presentation. RESULTS: Of the 72 participants who completed the study, 71% (51/72) were female and the mean age was 20.4 years (aged 16 to 25 years); 68% (49/72) of participants were recruited from headspace Camperdown and the remaining 32% (23/72) from headspace Campbelltown. Interrater agreement of participants' stage, as determined after face-to-face assessment or online assessment, demonstrated fair agreement (kappa=.39, P<.001) with concordance in 68% of cases (49/72). Among the discordant cases, those who were allocated to a higher stage by online raters were more likely to report a past history of mental health disorders (P=.001), previous suicide planning (P=.002), and current cannabis misuse (P=.03) compared to those allocated to a lower stage. CONCLUSIONS: The MHeC presents a new and innovative method for determining key clinical service parameters. It has the potential to be adapted to varied settings in which young people are connected with traditional clinical services and assist in providing the right care at the right time.

Developing a Mental Health eClinic to Improve Access to and Quality of Mental Health Care for Young People: Using Participatory Design as Research Methodologies.

BACKGROUND: Each year, many young Australians aged between 16 and 25 years experience a mental health disorder, yet only a small proportion access services and even fewer receive timely and evidence-based treatments. Today, with ever-increasing access to the Internet and use of technology, the potential to provide all young people with access (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) to the support they require to improve their mental health and well-being is promising. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to use participatory design (PD) as research methodologies with end users (young people aged between 16 and 25 years and youth health professionals) and our research team to develop the Mental Health eClinic (a Web-based mental health clinic) to improve timely access to, and better quality, mental health care for young people across Australia. METHODS: A research and development (R&D) cycle for the codesign and build of the Mental Health eClinic included several iterative PD phases: PD workshops; translation of knowledge and ideas generated during workshops to produce mockups of webpages either as hand-drawn sketches or as wireframes (simple layout of a webpage before visual design and content is added); rapid prototyping; and one-on-one consultations with end users to assess the usability of the alpha build of the Mental Health eClinic. RESULTS: Four PD workshops were held with 28 end users (young people n=18, youth health professionals n=10) and our research team (n=8). Each PD workshop was followed by a knowledge translation session. At the conclusion of this cycle, the alpha prototype was built, and one round of one-on-one end user consultation sessions was conducted (n=6; all new participants, young people n=4, youth health professionals n=2). The R&D cycle revealed the importance of five key components for the Mental Health eClinic: a home page with a visible triage system for those requiring urgent help; a comprehensive online physical and mental health assessment; a detailed dashboard of results; a booking and videoconferencing system to enable video visits; and the generation of a personalized well-being plan that includes links to evidence-based, and health professional-recommended, apps and etools. CONCLUSIONS: The Mental Health eClinic provides health promotion, triage protocols, screening, assessment, a video visit system, the development of personalized well-being plans, and self-directed mental health support for young people. It presents a technologically advanced and clinically efficient system that can be adapted to suit a variety of settings in which there is an opportunity to connect with young people. This will enable all young people, and especially those currently not able or willing to connect with face-to-face services, to receive best practice clinical services by breaking down traditional barriers to care and making health care more personalized, accessible, affordable, and available.

Using New and Emerging Technologies to Identify and Respond to Suicidality Among Help-Seeking Young People: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Suicidal thoughts are common among young people presenting to face-to-face and online mental health services. The early detection and rapid response to these suicidal thoughts and other suicidal behaviors is a priority for suicide prevention and early intervention efforts internationally. Establishing how best to use new and emerging technologies to facilitate person-centered systematic assessment and early intervention for suicidality is crucial to these efforts. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the use of a suicidality escalation protocol to respond to suicidality among help-seeking young people. METHODS: A total of 232 young people in the age range of 16-25 years were recruited from either a primary mental health care service or online in the community. Each young person used the Synergy Online System and completed an initial clinical assessment online before their face-to-face or online clinical appointment. A suicidality escalation protocol was used to identify and respond to current and previous suicidal thoughts and behaviors. RESULTS: A total of 153 young people (66%, 153/232) reported some degree of suicidality and were provided with a real-time alert online. Further levels of escalation (email or phone contact and clinical review) were initiated for the 35 young people (15%, 35/232) reporting high suicidality. Higher levels of psychological distress (P<.001) and a current alcohol or substance use problem (P=.02) predicted any level of suicidality compared with no suicidality. Furthermore, predictors of high suicidality compared with low suicidality were higher levels of psychological distress (P=.01), psychosis-like symptoms in the last 12 months (P=.01), a previous mental health problem (P=.01), and a history of suicide planning or attempts (P=.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the use of new and emerging technologies to facilitate the systematic assessment and detection of help-seeking young people presenting with suicidality. This protocol empowered the young person by suggesting pathways to care that were based on their current needs. The protocol also enabled an appropriate and timely response from service providers for young people reporting high suicidality that was associated with additional comorbid issues, including psychosis-like symptoms, and a history of suicide plans and attempts.

Correction of: Using New and Emerging Technologies to Identify and Respond to Suicidality Among Help-Seeking Young People: A Cross-Sectional Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/jmir.7897.].

El efecto de la relajación en pacientes con lumbalgia / Effect of relaxation in patients with low-back pain

Introducción: En Colombia, la lumbalgia es la tercera causa de consulta en los servicios de emergencia y la cuarta causa de consulta a medicina general. Del mismo modo, la carga de enfermedad es elevada, pues se deben tener en cuenta el costo de tratamiento y la incapacidad. Los tratamientos farmacológicos convencionales han demostrado su efectividad frente al placebo, aunque se han identificado efectos secundarios indeseables. En el tratamiento no farmacológico para el manejo de la lumbalgia han surgido las técnicas de relajación como importante y eficiente modalidad terapéutica y se han descrito modelos por los cuales la relajación podría alcanzar el alivio en las personas con lumbalgia. Objetivos: Realizar una revisión crítica, profunda y actualizada de la literatura sobre el efecto de la relajación en el tratamiento de la lumbalgia. Método: En el servidor Medline se cruzaron las expresiones MeSH mind-body therapies, relaxation therapy y back pain y se delimitaron los resultados a los estudios que tuvieran resúmenes disponibles, que fueran ensayos clínicos y metaanálisis, además de que estuvieran en inglés o español. Al final se obtuvieron 40 artículos. Conclusiones: La técnicas de relajación son un tratamiento efectivo en pacientes con lumbalgia. De su aplicación se beneficiarían grandes grupos de pacientes y su implementación reduciría los costos relacionados con la enfermedad; sin embargo, se necesitan mayores estudios sobre el tema.

Introduction: In Colombia low back pain is one of the most common health problems. It is the third most common cause of emergency room consultation and the fourth most common cause for general medical care. There is also a significant burden in connection with this pathology taking into account that the high cost of treatment and sick leaves. Conventional pharmacotherapy has proven to be effective over placebo treatment, although undesirable side effects have been identified in most of these treatments. In non-pharmacologic therapies, relaxation techniques have become an important and effective therapeutic method. Models which could alleviate low back pain through relaxation have been described. The existing theoretical methods can help to recover the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, as well as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. There is also a positive cognitive restructuring. Aims: This research aims to make a critical, deep and up-to-date review of biomedical literature about the effect of relaxation in patients with low-back pain. Methods: We searched Medline's biomedical literature for articles matching the Medical Subjects Headings (MeSH) "Mind-Body Therapies", "Relaxation Therapy" and "Back Pain". Then we refined the search only to those papers which had available abstracts, which were clinical trials and meta-analysis, either in English or Spanish. 40 articles were found. Discussion: According to the studies conducted those techniques causing a relaxation effect can be an effective treatment for patients with low-back pain as they contribute to take the pain under control. However there is not enough evidence because there are very few controlled clinical tests carried out on small population samples. Conclusions: Relaxation techniques are an effective treatment for patients with low-back pain. Its application would probably benefit large groups of patients and its implementation would decrease the costs related to this disease. However, more clinical trials need to be done on this subject.