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Psychological Services (Nov 8, 2018). DOI:10.1037/ser0000261
Depression is common in primary care settings, but barriers prevent many primary care patients from initiating treatment. Smartphone apps stand as a possible means to overcome such barriers. However, there is limited evidence to understand the use and efficacy of these apps. The purpose of the current study was to pilot an evaluation of the usage and efficacy of apps for depression based upon behavioral or cognitive intervention skills, compared to a wait-list control.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Improving sleep with online digital cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is associated with significant reductions in paranoia and hallucinations, a randomised trial in UK university students with insomnia has found.
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This paper offers up-to-date insights into how design principles from one condition extend to different conditions. Universal interaction and neurodiversity HCI are considered. This is important within neurodiverse populations, especially given the high rates of additional conditions that are associated with autism. Whilst the majority of autism research has involved verbal populations, the benefits of technology can extend to non-verbal populations. SSSFT - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
For people who use mental health services, this will mean taking ownership of their health and care information, updating directly into their care record and being able to interact with clinicians at the Trust using the latest digital technology, including smartphone apps and a secure online patient portal. Providing online information, learning and communities will also give service users the knowledge to manage their own health and wellness and adopt healthy behaviours. It will also enable their carers and families to provide the best possible support.
The majority of patients with depressive disorders are treated by general practitioners (GPs) and are prescribed antidepressant medication. Patients prefer psychological treatments but they are under-used, mainly due to time constraints and limited accessibility. A promising approach to deliver psychological treatment is blended care, i.e. guided online treatment. However, the cost-effectiveness of blended care formatted as an online psychological treatment supported by the patients’ own GP or general practice mental health worker (MHW) in routine primary care is unknown. We aim to demonstrate non-inferiority of blended care compared with usual care in patients with depressive symptoms or a depressive disorder in general practice. Additionally, we will explore the real-time course over the day of emotions and affect, and events within individuals during treatment.
Bethan Davies on a qualitative study of service users' experience about the acceptability, use and safety of the BlueIce app for young people who self-harm.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by remarkable heterogeneity in social, communication, and behavioral deficits, creating a major barrier in identifying effective treatments for a given individual with ASD. To facilitate precision medicine in ASD, we utilized a well-validated biological motion neuroimaging task to identify pretreatment biomarkers that can accurately forecast the response to an evidence-based behavioral treatment, Virtual Reality-Social Cognition Training (VR-SCT). Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Four innovative schemes in another mental health trust, including using cartoons in LD (internet cartoon package), use of a board game to facilitate challenging discussions in dementia, therapeutic horse care and co-produced recovery courses for people with EUPD
The revolutionary new technology enabled staff to continuously monitor patients’ vital signs, while asleep, without having to disturb them. The cameras can be installed safely enclosed inside a ligature-proof secure housing in a seclusion room or patient’s bedroom. The system does not need any additional sensors or physical contact with the patient. Display monitors linked to the cameras give hospital staff real time heartbeat and breathing rates and automatically alert them if there are any problems. Staff do not need to view a live video feed of the patient, but can monitor vital signs via an audible or visual alert. The system allows patients’ privacy and dignity to be better safeguarded than with traditional visual observations, irrespective of the gender of the member of staff responsible for checking on patients’ wellbeing.
The tool allows patients to create digital diaries to help them spot and unpick patterns in their lives, session planning tools to allow them to take control of the agenda and goals which can be sent at timely intervals to motivate them to make positive change.Used in 12 trusts to date Buddy has supported thousands of patients while significantly improving both attendance and recovery rates. Although originally designed for IAPT Buddy has spread rapidly and is now embedded in range of services with users aged between 9 and 72.
To date, very little research has been published evaluating mental health apps’ effectiveness. This article focuses on three methods through which grounded theory can facilitate app development and evaluation for people underrepresented in mental health care. Recommendations are made to advance mobile app technology that will help clinicians provide effective treatment, and consumers to realize positive treatment outcomes. Please contact the library to receive a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Bury Stroke Team, part of Pennine Care, has been using the software known as OmniJoin with a select number of patients to provide consultations over the internet via a webcam.
OmniJoin, by technology services provider Brother UK, is a secure web conferencing tool which allows video and audio calls to be made online.
Initial feedback from patients has been positive, and the time saved from travelling means four service users can be seen per session instead of three.
The money from the Health Foundation, an independent health and health care charity, will fund development of a sophisticated data dashboard and analysis tool that identifies high risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and diabetes in those with psychosis.
CAMHS Live provides a safe and fully confidential live online chat service for young people aged 13-18 year olds or for their parent or carer to seek guidance and further information with regards to any emotional wellbeing or mental health issue that the young person may have.
This service is available weekdays from 10am to 4.30pm.
Any emotional wellbeing or mental health issue can be discussed through the live chat and all conversations are dealt with sensitively even if not relevant to onwards sign-posting and information.
The main purpose of the service is to facilitate a referral directly to the relevant mental health services.
While interesting, this was a highly artificial scenario in a very small number of healthy people. It is far too early to say whether this approach would be effective in the long-term.
This summer the results of research into whether a ‘brain training’ App could help people with schizophrenia were published, and they quickly made national and international headlines. The University of Cambridge’s study, led by Professor Barbara Sahakian, found that a specially developed iPad game called Wizard helped improve the memory of people with schizophrenia, and in doing so might allow them to live more independently - or even get back into education or work.
Editorial. Login at top right hand side of page using your SSSFT NHS Athens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Lisa Burscheidt on a school-based RCT of an online CBT intervention (SPARX-R) for preventing depression in final year secondary school students in Australia
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the needs of people with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers in terms of information and communications technology (ICT) and home automation, and how to foster the use of smart devices in their homes and also, to determine whether the use of ICT can extend people with Alzheimer’s disease stay at home in the first stages of the illness, while facilitating their caregivers’ tasks. Please contact the library to receive a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
As gatekeepers, parents can improve the uptake of mental health services among youth. This article asked whether providing parents with a presentation on computer-based therapies is a feasible strategy to improve their knowledge, attitudes and uptake intentions. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you requesting.
Purpose: In this case study, we discuss the application of a patient-centred clinical approach that led to the use of an assisted communication platform to combat severe communicative deficit in a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please be clear which article you are requesting.
A new report outlines how health and social care providers must collaborate with users of services when designing apps, websites and other digital technologies.
We sought to understand caregivers’ experience of an education-based wellness program delivered using telehealth. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the use of a speech generating app via a tablet, as implemented by a caregiver, to increase requesting in an adult with autism spectrum disorder. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
The findings suggest that assistive technology provision by prescribers plays a beneficial role in the lives of caregivers, but access to such benefits can be hampered by contextual constraints. Please contact the library to receive a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) can significantly improve outcomes for people with body dysmorphia, suggests a new study. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
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CCGs in northern Staffordshire are rolling out an innovative service linking GPs with their elderly patients and care home staff through online video technology. Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire CCGs have been given £136,000 each by NHS England to buy equipment for their ‘Making Technology Enabled Care Services (TECS) a Reality in Elderly Care’ scheme.
Stoke on Trent and North Staffordshire CCGs have rolled out a free self care app for long term condition patients.
The app, which uses avatars developed by Keele University to demonstrate self care advice is being used to support a range of long term health conditions including asthma, COPD, hypertension, Type 2 Diabetes, lower back pain, stroke/TIA and Atrial Fibrillation.
ChatHealth is a safe and secure text messaging service that helps young people get in touch with healthcare professionals.
First developed by school nurses at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT), ChatHealth supports greater efficiencies within adolescent community nursing teams, with individual nurses able to provide for a greater number of service users.
MyWell-being Online is Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s online service connecting young people with qualified health professionals at the touch of a button. Anyone aged 11-19 living or attending school in Cheshire West and Chester can log on and as well as browse useful tips and advice, speak to someone around low mood, relationship issues as well as exam result worries.
Special issue on the use of technology in CAMHS. Articles include mobile health interventions scoping review, patient portals, cost effectiveness of apps, eating disorders, effect on doctor-patient relationship. Please contact the library to receive a copy of any of these articles - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Mental health care represents a significant health disparity, particularly in rural America. The objective of this article was to describe 1 possible solution to this problem: an academic-community rural child and adolescent telepsychiatry service-learning partnership. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
In the last decade, technology has revolutionised the way we deliver healthcare. Smartphones, tablets, personal computers and bespoke devices have provided patients with the means to access health information, manage their healthcare and communicate with health professionals remotely. Advances in technology have the potential to change how acute and long-term conditions are diagnosed and managed and how illness is prevented using technological advances in artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, robotics, 3D printing, new materials, biosensor technologies and data analytics. In the future, predictive analytics will help with earlier disease diagnosis in at-risk populations.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Conclusion Developing a web-based application that meets children and young peoples' information and support needs will maximize its utility and enhance the effectiveness of home-based clinical caregiving, therefore contributing to improved outcomes for patients.
Two hundred patients from Humber NHS Foundation Trust’s Learning Disability service will be taking part in the trial of the ‘My Health Guide’ app, designed and developed by UK software firm Maldaba Ltd and inspired by the heartwarming story of “Matthew’s Book”.
“Matthew’s Book” is an iPad-based, multi-media guide that accompanies Hull-based Matthew Prosser wherever he goes. Matthew has profound and complex needs and his book allows carers and healthcare professionals to understand essential aspects of his care and what good practice means for him.
The app, commissioned and funded by NHS England and SBRI Healthcare, enables users to capture video, audio, images and text in a single, user-friendly format and share selected information with carers, guardians and health professionals.
This article aims to describe the characteristics of those with a primary diagnosis of spinal cord injury (SCI) attending a specialist wheelchair service providing electric powered indoor/outdoor chairs (EPIOCs). This cross-sectional study, with retrospective review of electronic and case note records, explores the complexities of additional clinical features associated with SCI and disability influencing prescription
The potential of smartphone apps to improve quality and increase access to mental health care is increasingly clear. Yet even in the current global mental health crisis, real-world uptake of smartphone apps by clinics or consumers remains low. To understand this dichotomy, this paper reviews current challenges surrounding user engagement with mental health smartphone apps. While smartphone engagement metrics and reporting remains heterogeneous in the literature, focusing on themes offers a framework to identify underlying trends. These themes suggest that apps are not designed with service users in mind, do not solve problems users care most about, do not respect privacy, are not seen as trustworthy and are unhelpful in emergencies. Respecting these current issues surrounding mental health app engagement, we propose several solutions and highlight successful examples of mental health apps with high engagement. Further research is necessary to better characterise engagement with mental health apps and identify best practices for design, testing and implementation.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
The potential of smartphone apps to improve quality and increase access to mental health care is increasingly clear. Yet even in the current global mental health crisis, real-world uptake of smartphone apps by clinics or consumers remains low. To understand this dichotomy, this paper reviews current challenges surrounding user engagement with mental health smartphone apps.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
ChatHealth now receives on average one or two text messages per week. Due to the low number of text messages we have made the decision to cease the service and utilise our resources more effectively in delivering tailored support to schools’ individual needs.
Cumbria County Council is in the process of reviewing the online emotional support offer that will be available for young people; in the near future more information will be circulated as appropriate.
A review of an online counselling platform called Kooth, which CNWL partners with, has found that non-white children were more likely to access these services over traditional mental health services.
Results: Participants view assistive technology procurement as an ongoing cyclical process, with potential unmet needs at key moments before and after assistive technology procurement. Assistive technology user-family caregiver dyads needs focus on assistive technology information, access, assistive technology-person-context match, training and support. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please be clear which article you are requesting.
The application of telehealth technology to conduct functional analysis (FA) and functional communication training (FCT) is emerging for children with developmental disabilities and behaviour support needs. The current study was designed to extend FA + FCT for self-injurious behaviour by using telehealth in home with parents as interventionists receiving real-time remote coaching. . To read the full article, log in using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders, but many potential candidates have limited access to therapists. Low-quality evidence suggests Internet-based CBT (ICBT), when augmented by remote access to a therapist via telephone or email, may benefit these patients.
DUDLEY and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust Libraries have recently completed a year-long pilot in which iPads were lent out to staff to use as a therapeutic resource with patients on hospital wards and in the community. As part of the pilot, Library Services worked in collaboration with the Trust’s Occupational Therapy Department, who recommended apps and trialled the project in practice, providing feedback and recommendations.
The University of Stirling Dementia and Ageing research team, together with the Dementia Services Development Centre, is embarking on an innovative research programme around personalised assistive technology for people living with dementia. We would like to give you [AT providers] the opportunity to join a consortium of assistive technology service providers who’s products will be part of a personalised assistive technology toolkit that will be trialled for people living with dementia.
Conclusions: Tele-rehabilitation could be a promising tool to overcome burdens that restrict accessibility to rehabilitation in the future. VR can increase motivation allowing longer and more training sessions in community-dwelling stroke survivors. Therefore, combining the benefits of both approaches seems convenient. Although evidence is still sparse, functional improvements seem to be equal compared to a similar intervention with therapist-supervision in the clinic, suggesting that for cost-efficient rehabilitation parts of therapy can be transferred to the homes. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please be clear which article you are requesting.
Poor-quality pharmaceuticals and medical devices rarely make it to market; however, the same cannot be said for app-based interventions. With a high availability but low evidence base for mHealth, apps are an increasingly uncertain prospect to users and healthcare professionals alike. Although in a first-best situation, the burden of proof concerning app safety, clinical and cost-effectiveness ‘should’ ultimately lie with app developers; a number of barriers to evidence generation, including the fact that ‘acceptable evidence’ itself is largely open to interpretation, mean that it may be folly to expect this paucity of real-world effectiveness research to improve. While the health technology assessment of established therapeutic modalities including pharmaceuticals and talking therapies benefits from the existence of approved evaluative guidelines, unfortunately the same cannot be said for app-based interventions, specifically with regard to outcomes measurement. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
The current popularity of mindfulness-based practices has coincided with the increase in access to mobile technology. This has led to many mindfulness apps and programs becoming available, some specifically for children. However, little is known about the experience of engaging with mindfulness through these mediums.You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
The worldwide rise in common mental disorders (CMDs) is posing challenges in the provision of and access to care, particularly for immigrant, refugee and racialized groups from low-income backgrounds. eHealth tools, such as the Interactive Computer-Assisted Client Assessment Survey (iCCAS) may reduce some barriers to access. iCCAS is a tablet-based, touch-screen self-assessment completed by clients while waiting to see their family physician (FP) or nurse practitioner (NP). In an academic-community initiative, iCCAS was made available in English and Spanish at a Community Health Centre in Toronto through a mixed-method trial.
Conclusion: Computer-based cognitive interventions have moderate effects in cognition, and anxiety and small effects in depression in PWD. No significant effects were found on activities of daily living. They led to superior results compared to non-computer-based interventions in cognition. Further research is needed on cognitive recreation and cognitive stimulation. SSSFT - Please contact the library to receive a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
This is a promising piece of research into an innovative treatment. The next step will be to see if the benefits are still found when the therapy is trialled in more people at other centres.
Computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (CCBT) has been shown to be an efficacious treatment for depression. A recent meta-analysis of 9 studies showed a large mean effect size superiority over control group (effect size=0.86, number needed to treat=2), good adherence (69%) and benefits were evident at follow-up at a median of 26 weeks. In contrast, REEACT, a major study which compared usual general practitioner (GP) care versus usual GP care plus access to 1 of 2 pioneering CCBT courses detected no differences between the groups. We present the results and discuss possible explanations for these findings. In all 3 groups, usual care was extensive (9 visits in 12 months, 80% on medication, 8–23% getting psychological sessions). Adherence to CCBT courses was very poor (17%). Perhaps the surfeit of services meant there was no need for CCBT. Perhaps neither of the 2 CCBT courses encouraged adherence. What is certain is that this study did not test the potential of these CCBT courses to produce change in patients with depression presenting in primary care. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Despite the evidence base for computer-assisted cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) in the general population, it has not yet been adapted for use with adults who have an intellectual disability. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Computer-administered cognitive–behavioural therapy (CCBT) may be a promising treatment for adolescents with depression, particularly due to its increased availability and accessibility. The feasibility of delivering a randomised controlled trial (RCT) comparing a CCBT program (Stressbusters) with an attention control (self-help websites) for adolescent depression was evaluated. Open Access Article
Previous meta-analyses indicate that computerized cognitive training (CCT) is a safe and efficacious intervention for cognition in older adults. However, efficacy varies across populations and cognitive domains, and little is known about the efficacy of CCT in people with mild cognitive impairment or dementia. : Login at top right hand side of page using your SSSFT NHS Athens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Conclusions: Exergames was not a successful intervention to increase physical activity behaviours in persons with severe mental illness in the community. Exergames and motivation for physical activity in this group is problematic. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please be clear which article you are requesting.