Loneliness, Mental Illness, Social Isolation
Conditions
Keywords
Mental Illness, Loneliness, Hope, Community, Social Media
Brief summary
This study is a randomized trial evaluating Recovery 4 US, a social media program aimed at the enhancement of community participation and overall recovery of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.This innovative e-mental health program integrates Internet and mobile technologies and is designed to be a self-sustaining recovery-oriented virtual community for individuals living with a disabling mental illness based on the principles of Photovoice.
Detailed description
This study is a randomized trial evaluating Recovery 4 US, a social media program aimed at the enhancement of community participation and overall recovery of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.This innovative e-mental health program integrates Internet and mobile technologies and is designed to be a self-sustaining recovery-oriented virtual community for individuals living with a disabling mental illness based on the principles of Photovoice. The Recovery 4 US program which includes a mobile phone application and a password protected website, has three main components: 1) receipt of daily hope-inspiring message, paired with a corresponding visual image; 2) creation and viewing of recovery-oriented Photovoice works; and 3) opportunity to attend community events initiated by members of the Recovery 4 US community. The benefits of the Recovery 4 US program will be evaluated through a randomized trial with n=60 participants. The study will take place at the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Participants will be randomized to the experimental group (provided with a smartphone and access to Recovery 4 US application and website) or the control group (provided with a smartphone but without access to the Recovery 4 US app or website). We anticipate participation in the program will be associated with reduced loneliness, increased hopefulness, community participation, and overall recovery. The recruitment goal for this study was amended to n=70.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALRecovery 4 Us
R4US is a social media program aimed at the enhancement of community participation and overall recovery of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.
Sponsors
Boston University Charles River Campus
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* are 18 or older * have been recipients of services at the BU CPR Recovery Center due to having a DSM-V diagnosis of mental illness, including dual diagnosis (dual diagnosis refers to co-occurring mental illness and alcohol/ substance use disorder) as indicated in their records * are interested in participating in a social media program * are fluent in English * have a basic ability to use a mobile phone
Exclusion criteria
* Inability to give full and knowing consent
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| UCLA Loneliness Scale | Change from Baseline to 3 months to 6 months | A 20-item 4-point Likert-type scale, widely used measure of loneliness and social isolation with Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from .89 to .94 |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Herth Hope Index | Change from Baseline to 3 months to 6 months | 12 item 4-point Likert type scale measuring the level of generalized hopefulness of the individual; the reported Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal consistency of the scale is .97 |
| Perceived Stress Scale | Change from Baseline to 3 months to 6 months | 10-item 5-point Likert-type scale self-report measure of the level of stress experienced at a given point of time. It was designed to capture how unpredictable, uncontrollable and overloaded respondents find their lives based on their capacity to cope with stress. Reported internal consistency coefficients for the scale ranged between 0.90 and 0.92 |
| Multi-Dimensional Assessment of Community Participation | Change from Baseline to 3 months to 6 months | Consists of objective and subjective measures of community belonging, inclusion and participation |
| Recovery Assessment Scale | Change from Baseline to 3 months to 6 months | 24-item 5-point Likert rating scale assessing the level of overall recovery among people with psychiatric disabilities. |
| BASIS-R | Change from Baseline to 3 months to 6 months | measures: mood disturbances, anxiety, interpersonal and role functioning, daily living skills, psychotic symptoms, impulsivity and substance use on a scale from no difficulty to extreme difficulty. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed