The feasibility of using a smartphone app and clinician portal to encourage and support healthy living behaviours for people with mental illness

The Health-e Minds solution utilises technologies which integrate smartphones, the Internet, measurement devices and multimedia content to support persons with diagnosis of mental illness through encouraging healthy behaviours. Patients are able to monitor health parameters such as body weight, steps, exercise, symptoms, sleep, stress level, tobacco smoking and alcohol through the smartphone app. The app provides visual (graphical) and textual progress reports, and motivational messages and information to assist individuals in the management of their illness, such as links to professional guidelines regarding diet or exercise. The entries on the app automatically update to a web-based clinician portal. Participants are encouraged to enter their clinical measures at least once a day. The number of measures to be entered are personalised for each person, in consultation with their treating clinician, and therefore may differ. The portal enables clinical care providers to view their clients’ progress and provide individualised feedback and/or early care intervention dependent on the advice of the clinical review. Clinicians from the Mental Health and Addiction Services, Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service (SCHHS) will identify potentially eligible participants from their existing clients. These individuals will be provided with the Information Sheet that describes the study requirements during scheduled information sessions with groups of patients. Face to face interviews with clinician/s of the clinical care team and individuals who indicate that they are interested in participating in the study will be conducted. The interviews will ensure that the prospective participants meet the inclusion criteria and are able to provide informed consent. During the interview, the clinical care team member will discuss the study with participants and their family members (if applicable) and will answer any questions that they may have. Interested individuals will be asked to sign the Participant Consent Form and will be provided with a copy of the Information sheet and the signed consent form. All consented participants will be registered by a member of their clinical care team in the Health-e Mind Clinician portal and will be given access to the Health-e Mind app through a portal generated username and password. Participants recruited into the study will receive their usual care and they will have access to the app for at least 12 weeks. They will be instructed by their health carer on how to use the App. During this study, participant data will be viewed through the Clinician web portal by one of three SCH clinical staff at least once per week, followed by a phone call. During the weekly phone call, any non-adherence to uploading data will be discussed in order to encourage adherence to the intervention. Participants will be asked to complete surveys at baseline and again after 12 weeks. These will include Demographic information, EQ5D, Kessler 10, 6 Minute Walk Test and User Experience survey.