M. Alvarez‐Jimenez, J. Nicholas, L. Valentine, P. Liu, S. Mangelsdorf, S. Baker, T. Gilbertson, G. O'Loughlin, C. McEnery, P. D. McGorry, J. F. Gleeson, S. P. Cross
{"title":"A national evaluation of a multi‐modal, blended, digital intervention integrated within Australian youth mental health services","authors":"M. Alvarez‐Jimenez, J. Nicholas, L. Valentine, P. Liu, S. Mangelsdorf, S. Baker, T. Gilbertson, G. O'Loughlin, C. McEnery, P. D. McGorry, J. F. Gleeson, S. P. Cross","doi":"10.1111/acps.13751","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"BackgroundYouth mental health (YMH) services have been established internationally to provide timely, age‐appropriate, mental health treatment and improve long‐term outcomes. However, YMH services face challenges including long waiting times, limited continuity of care, and time‐bound support. To bridge this gap, MOST was developed as a scalable, blended, multi‐modal digital platform integrating real‐time and asynchronous clinician‐delivered counselling; interactive psychotherapeutic content; vocational support; peer support, and a youth‐focused online community. The implementation of MOST within Australian YMH services has been publicly funded.ObjectiveThe primary aim of this study was to evaluate the real‐world engagement, outcomes, and experience of MOST during the first 32 months of implementation.MethodYoung people from participating YMH services were referred into MOST. Engagement metrics were derived from platform usage. Symptom and satisfaction measures were collected at baseline, 6, and 12 (primary endpoint) weeks. Effect sizes were calculated for the primary outcomes of depression and anxiety and secondary outcomes of psychological distress and wellbeing.ResultsFive thousand seven hundred and two young people from 262 clinics signed up and used MOST at least once. Young people had an average of 19 login sessions totalling 129 min over the first 12 weeks of use, with 71.7% using MOST for at least 14 days, 40.1% for 12 weeks, and 18.8% for 24 weeks. There was a statistically significant, moderate improvement in depression and anxiety at 12 weeks as measured by the PHQ4 across all users irrespective of treatment stage (<jats:italic>d</jats:italic> = 0.41, 95% CI 0.35–0.46). Satisfaction levels were high, with 93% recommending MOST to a friend. One thousand one hundred and eighteen young people provided written feedback, of which 68% was positive and 31% suggested improvement.ConclusionsMOST is a highly promising blended digital intervention with potential to address the limitations and enhance the impact of YMH services.","PeriodicalId":108,"journal":{"name":"Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica","volume":"73 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.13751","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
BackgroundYouth mental health (YMH) services have been established internationally to provide timely, age‐appropriate, mental health treatment and improve long‐term outcomes. However, YMH services face challenges including long waiting times, limited continuity of care, and time‐bound support. To bridge this gap, MOST was developed as a scalable, blended, multi‐modal digital platform integrating real‐time and asynchronous clinician‐delivered counselling; interactive psychotherapeutic content; vocational support; peer support, and a youth‐focused online community. The implementation of MOST within Australian YMH services has been publicly funded.ObjectiveThe primary aim of this study was to evaluate the real‐world engagement, outcomes, and experience of MOST during the first 32 months of implementation.MethodYoung people from participating YMH services were referred into MOST. Engagement metrics were derived from platform usage. Symptom and satisfaction measures were collected at baseline, 6, and 12 (primary endpoint) weeks. Effect sizes were calculated for the primary outcomes of depression and anxiety and secondary outcomes of psychological distress and wellbeing.ResultsFive thousand seven hundred and two young people from 262 clinics signed up and used MOST at least once. Young people had an average of 19 login sessions totalling 129 min over the first 12 weeks of use, with 71.7% using MOST for at least 14 days, 40.1% for 12 weeks, and 18.8% for 24 weeks. There was a statistically significant, moderate improvement in depression and anxiety at 12 weeks as measured by the PHQ4 across all users irrespective of treatment stage (d = 0.41, 95% CI 0.35–0.46). Satisfaction levels were high, with 93% recommending MOST to a friend. One thousand one hundred and eighteen young people provided written feedback, of which 68% was positive and 31% suggested improvement.ConclusionsMOST is a highly promising blended digital intervention with potential to address the limitations and enhance the impact of YMH services.
期刊介绍:
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica acts as an international forum for the dissemination of information advancing the science and practice of psychiatry. In particular we focus on communicating frontline research to clinical psychiatrists and psychiatric researchers.
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica has traditionally been and remains a journal focusing predominantly on clinical psychiatry, but translational psychiatry is a topic of growing importance to our readers. Therefore, the journal welcomes submission of manuscripts based on both clinical- and more translational (e.g. preclinical and epidemiological) research. When preparing manuscripts based on translational studies for submission to Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, the authors should place emphasis on the clinical significance of the research question and the findings. Manuscripts based solely on preclinical research (e.g. animal models) are normally not considered for publication in the Journal.