Articlegreen2020

Augmenting Evidence-Based Care With a Texting Mobile Interventionist: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Dror Ben‐Zeev · Benjamin Buck · Suzanne Meller · William J. Hudenko · Kevin A. Hallgren

36 citations0/0 files storedPsychiatric Services

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Digital Mental Health Interventions Psychiatric care and mental health services Mobile Health and mHealth Applications

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and clinical utility of training intensive psychiatric community care team members to serve as "mobile interventionists" who engage patients in recovery-oriented texting exchanges. METHODS: A 3-month pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the mobile interventionist approach as an add-on to assertive community treatment (ACT) versus ACT alone. Participants were 49 individuals with serious mental illness (62% with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder, 24% with bipolar disorder, and 14% with depression). Clinical outcomes were evaluated at baseline, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up, and satisfaction was evaluated posttreatment. RESULTS: The intervention appeared feasible (95% of participants assigned to the mobile interventionist arm initiated the intervention, texting on 69% of possible days and averaging four messages per day), acceptable (91% reported satisfaction), and safe (no adverse events reported). Exploratory posttreatment clinical effect estimations suggested greater reductions in the severity of paranoid thoughts (Cohen's d=-0.61) and depression (d=-0.59) and improved illness management (d=0.31) and recovery (d=0.23) in the mobile interventionist group. CONCLUSIONS: Augmentation of care with a texting mobile interventionist proved to be feasible, acceptable, safe, and clinically promising. The findings are encouraging given the relative ease of training practitioners to serve as mobile interventionists, the low burden placed on patients and practitioners, and the simplicity of the technology. The technical resources are widely accessible to patients and practitioners, boding well for potential intervention scalability. When pandemics such as COVID-19 block the possibility of in-person patient-provider contact, evidence-based texting interventions can serve a crucial role in supporting continuity of care.

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References

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Cited by

2021Individualized Intervention to Support Mental Health Recovery Through Implementation of Digital Tools into Clinical Care: Feasibility Study 2021Italia Ti Ascolto [Italy, I am listening]: an app-based group psychological intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic 2023Digital Interventions for Relapse Prevention, Illness Self-Management, and Health Promotion In Schizophrenia: Recent Advances, Continued Challenges, and Future Opportunities 2024Leveraging Personal Technologies in the Treatment of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: Scoping Review

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