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Tag: serious mental illness
08/21/2023

As soon as I start trusting human beings, they disappoint me, and now I am going to get on an app that someone could hack. I really do not want to take that chance”: barriers and facilitators to digital peer support implementation into community mental health centers.

Fortuna KL, Divatia S, Neupane S, Geiger P and Bohm A (2023) “As soon as I start trusting human beings, they disappoint me, and now I am going to get on an app that someone could hack. I really do not want to take that chance”: barriers and facilitators to digital peer support implementation into community mental health centers. Front. Digit. Health 5:1130095. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2023.1130095

This study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to implementation of digital peer support based on perspectives of patients with serious mental illness (SMI) and certified peer support specialists. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 27 participants (17 persons with SMI and 10 certified peer support specialists) at an urban community mental health center. Agency staff in a community mental health center shared information about the study with potential participants for recruitment. The interview guide included six broad questions to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a digital peer support intervention for patients with SMI. Patient participants were on average 51 years of age, mostly male, white and had varying mental health diagnoses. Peer support specialists were on average 40 years of age, all female and white. Nine barriers were identified: 1) adaptability to the needs of older patients, 2) technology complexity, 3) cost of implementation, 4) compatibility with patients’ real-world environment, 5) quality of communications, 6) availability of resources, 7) access to information, 8) lack of human interaction, and 9) patients’ personality and characteristics. Two facilitators were identified: 1) increased access to health care and 2) relative advantage of implementing digital peer support compared to in-person meetings. Overall, patients with SMI have unique needs regarding training and access to digital peer support. In-person interaction is preferred, but digital peer support can be a helpful augment to clinical treatment.  Identification of implementation barriers and facilitators can inform multilevel strategies to increase uptake of digital peer support in community mental health centers.

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07/10/2023

Informing the development of the Coaching Online and Community Health (COACH) program: a qualitative study of clubhouse members living with serious mental illness

O’Neill K, Hand R, Diop B, Weiss H, Cruz Pfaeffle A, Maragatham P, Rice K, Naslund JA. Informing the development of the coaching online and community health (COACH) program: a qualitative study of clubhouse members living with serious mental illness. Transl Behav Med. 2023 May 13;13(5):343-353. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibad001.

Clubhouse organizations for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) are structured psychosocial rehabilitation communities, some of which have developed virtual service platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study explored clubhouse members’ experiences engaging with a virtual clubhouse platform during the COVID-19 pandemic; preferences for interest in and access to digital health content was assessed, as well as suggestions for an online peer lifestyle intervention. The study was guided by a community-based participatory action research framework. Ten focus groups were conducted with 33 clubhouse members (ages 28 to 69 years old, 54.3% women). Participants expressed mixed views about use of the virtual clubhouse platform (delivered over Zoom), with some finding that meeting virtually was better for social anxiety, while others reporting it challenging to interact online and pick up on social cues. The virtual platform offered new opportunities to reach individuals with SMI during the pandemic, but participants noted the importance of having staff to help them get online and navigate the virtual platform. Focus group members highlighted that compatibility with the person facilitating the intervention content was necessary for engagement. Another reported motivation for engagement was participation in health and wellness activities that bring joy and access to community resources and involvement. Recommendations from this study will inform a future adaptation of an intervention, called Group Lifestyle Balance, to suit the needs of clubhouse members.

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