'Care co-ordinator in my pocket': a feasibility study of mobile assessment and therapy for psychosis (TechCare).

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the project was to examine the acceptability and feasibility of a mobile phone application-based intervention 'TechCare', for individuals with psychosis in the North West of England. The main objectives were to determine whether appropriate individuals could be identified and recruited to the study and whether the TechCare App would be an acceptable intervention for individuals with psychosis. METHODS: This was a mixed methods feasibility study, consisting of a test-run and feasibility evaluation of the TechCare App intervention. SETTING: Early Intervention Services (EIS) for psychosis, within an NHS Trust in the North West of England. PARTICIPANTS: Sixteen participants (test-run n=4, feasibility study n=12) aged between 18 and 65 years recruited from the East, Central and North Lancashire EIS. INTERVENTION: A 6-week intervention, with the TechCare App assessing participants' symptoms and responses in real-time and providing a personalised-guided self-help-based psychological intervention based on the principles of Cognitive Behaviorual Therapy (CBT). RESULTS: A total of 83.33% (n=10) of participants completed the 6-week feasibility study, with 70% of completers achieving the set compliance threshold of ≥33% engagement with the TechCare App system. Analysis of the qualitative data suggested that participants held the view that the TechCare was both an acceptable and feasible means of delivering interventions in real-time. CONCLUSION: Innovative digital clinical technologies, such as the TechCare App, have the potential to increase access to psychological interventions, reduce health inequality and promote self-management with a real-time intervention, through enabling access to mental health resources in a stigma-free, evidence-based and time-independent manner. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02439619.

Critical review of the evidence base regarding theories conceptualising the aetiology of psychosis.

A critical review of literature related to the aetiology of psychosis was conducted with specific emphasis on genetics. It was found that, although many published articles were retrieved via database searches, the format of the information was disparate in presentation leading to unnecessary inconsistences. This suggests the need for insightful collaboration by authors and standardisation of published articles to prevent academic and specialism barriers remaining as a discouragement to non-specialists wishing to access this information.

TechCare: mobile assessment and therapy for psychosis - an intervention for clients in the Early Intervention Service: A feasibility study protocol.

OBJECTIVES: Technological advances in healthcare have shown promise when delivering interventions for mental health problems such as psychosis. The aim of this project is to develop a mobile phone intervention for people with psychosis and to conduct a feasibility study of the TechCare App. METHODS: The TechCare App will assess participant's symptoms and respond with a personalised guided self-help-based psychological intervention with the aim of exploring feasibility and acceptability. The project will recruit 16 service users and 8-10 health professionals from the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust Early Intervention Service. RESULTS: In strand 1 of the study, we will invite people to discuss their experience of psychosis and give their opinions on the existing evidence-based treatment (cognitive behavioural therapy) and how the mobile app can be developed. In strand 2, we will complete a test run with a small number of participants (n = 4) to refine the mobile intervention (TechCare). Finally, in strand 3 of the study, the TechCare App will be examined in a feasibility study with 12 participants. CONCLUSION: It has been suggested that there is a need for a rapid increase in the efforts to develop the evidence base for the clinical effectiveness of digital technologies, considering mHealth research can potentially be helpful in addressing the demand on mental health services globally.