Using New and Innovative Technologies to Assess Clinical Stage in Early Intervention Youth Mental Health Services: Evaluation Study

BACKGROUND Globally there is increasing recognition that new strategies are required to reduce disability due to common mental health problems. As 75% of mental health and substance use disorders emerge during the teenage or early adulthood years, these strategies need to be readily accessible to young people. When considering how to provide such services at scale, new and innovative technologies show promise in augmenting traditional clinic-based services. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to test new and innovative technologies to assess clinical stage in early intervention youth mental health services using a prototypic online system known as the Mental Health eClinic (MHeC). METHODS The online assessment within the MHeC was compared directly against traditional clinician assessment within 2 Sydney-based youth-specific mental health services (headspace Camperdown and headspace Campbelltown). A total of 204 young people were recruited to the study. Eligible participants completed both face-to-face and online assessments, which were randomly allocated and counterbalanced at a 1-to-3 ratio. These assessments were (1) a traditional 45- to 60-minute headspace face-to-face assessment performed by a Youth Access Clinician and (2) an approximate 60-minute online assessment (including a self-report Web-based survey, immediate dashboard of results, and a video visit with a clinician). All assessments were completed within a 2-week timeframe from initial presentation. RESULTS Of the 72 participants who completed the study, 71% (51/72) were female and the mean age was 20.4 years (aged 16 to 25 years); 68% (49/72) of participants were recruited from headspace Camperdown and the remaining 32% (23/72) from headspace Campbelltown. Interrater agreement of participants’ stage, as determined after face-to-face assessment or online assessment, demonstrated fair agreement (kappa=.39, P<.001) with concordance in 68% of cases (49/72). Among the discordant cases, those who were allocated to a higher stage by online raters were more likely to report a past history of mental health disorders (P=.001), previous suicide planning (P=.002), and current cannabis misuse (P=.03) compared to those allocated to a lower stage. CONCLUSIONS The MHeC presents a new and innovative method for determining key clinical service parameters. It has the potential to be adapted to varied settings in which young people are connected with traditional clinical services and assist in providing the right care at the right time.

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Ethnic-specific mental health services: Evaluation of the parallel approach for Asian-American clients

Journal of Community Psychology ◽

10.1002/1520-6629(199404)22:2<68::aid-jcop2290220204>3.0.co;2-5 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 68-81 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Nolan Zane ◽

Herbert Hatanaka ◽

Samuel S. Park ◽

Phillip Akutsu

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Asian American ◽

Health Services Evaluation ◽

Services Evaluation

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Youth services: meeting the mental health needs of adolescents

Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/ipm.2014.73 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 13-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

N. S. Vyas ◽

M. Birchwood ◽

S. P. Singh

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Early Intervention ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Youth Mental Health ◽

Youth Services ◽

Early Intervention Services ◽

Youth Service ◽

Risk Period ◽

Traditional Service

ObjectivesYouth mental health services are poised for a paradigm shift. Recent epidemiological evidence confirms the seriousness of adolescence as a risk period for mental ill-health - 50% of all adult mental disorders begin before the age of 16% and 75% before the age of 25. Here, we identify issues with transition of care between CAMHS-AMHS service, and effectiveness of early intervention services.MethodsWe provide a selective review providing evidence of adolescence as a risk period, discuss CAMHS-AMHS service transition problems, and discuss avenues for change to implement the early intervention model across youth mental health.ResultsTraditional service structures,with paediatric -adult split at 16–18 years increasingly appear not fit for purpose. A radical redesign of youth mental health services is not only necessary, it is also feasible and achievable, as illustrated by a pilot Birmingham youth service – Youthspace.ConclusionsPilot youth mental projects currently underway can help radically redesign the existing child and adolescent services. This will in turn lead to an improvement in the young people's experience of engagement with the services so that they too have a positive future.

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Child and adolescent mental health services: Evaluation challenges

New Directions for Program Evaluation ◽

10.1002/ev.1604 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 1992 (54) ◽

pp. 5-16

Author(s):

Debra J. Rog

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Adolescent Mental Health ◽

Child And Adolescent ◽

Health Services Evaluation ◽

Services Evaluation

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Clinical Stage Transitions in Persons Aged 12 to 25 Years Presenting to Early Intervention Mental Health Services With Anxiety, Mood, and Psychotic Disorders

JAMA Psychiatry ◽

10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.2360 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 76 (11) ◽

pp. 1167 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Frank Iorfino ◽

Elizabeth M. Scott ◽

Joanne S. Carpenter ◽

Shane P. Cross ◽

Daniel F. Hermens ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Early Intervention ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Psychotic Disorders ◽

Clinical Stage

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Deconstructing the ‘black box’ of the Camberwell assessment of need score in mental health services evaluation

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology ◽

10.1007/s00127-008-0354-9 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 43 (9) ◽

pp. 714-719 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Erik Wennström ◽

Lars Berglund ◽

Johan Lindbäck ◽

Frits-Axel Wiesel

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Black Box ◽

Health Services Evaluation ◽

Camberwell Assessment Of Need ◽

Services Evaluation ◽

Assessment Of Need

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Perspectives of Family Members on Using Technology in Youth Mental Health Care: A Qualitative Study

JMIR Mental Health ◽

10.2196/mental.7296 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. e21 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Shalini Lal ◽

Winnie Daniel ◽

Lysanne Rivard

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Early Intervention ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Mental Health Care ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Family Members ◽

Youth Mental Health ◽

Use Of Technology

Background Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are increasingly recognized as having an important role in the delivery of mental health services for youth. Recent studies have evaluated young people’s access and use of technology, as well as their perspectives on using technology to receive mental health information, services, and support; however, limited attention has been given to the perspectives of family members in this regard. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of family members on the use of ICTs to deliver mental health services to youth within the context of specialized early intervention for a first-episode psychosis (FEP). Methods Six focus groups were conducted with family members recruited from an early intervention program for psychosis. Twelve family members participated in the study (target sample was 12-18, and recruitment efforts took place over the duration of 1 year). A 12-item semistructured focus group guide was developed to explore past experiences of technology and recommendations for the use of technology in youth mental health service delivery. A qualitative thematic analysis guided the identification and organization of common themes and patterns identified across the dataset. Results Findings were organized by the following themes: access and use of technology, potential negative impacts of technology on youth in recovery, potential benefits of using technology to deliver mental health services to youth, and recommendations to use technology for (1) providing quality information in a manner that is accessible to individuals of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, (2) facilitating communication with health care professionals and services, and (3) increasing access to peer support. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is among the first (or the first) to explore the perspectives of family members of youth being treated for FEP on the use of technology for mental health care. Our results highlight the importance of considering diverse experiences and attitudes toward the role of technology in youth mental health, digital literacy skills, phases of recovery, and sociodemographic factors when engaging family members in technology-enabled youth mental health care research and practice. Innovative methods to recruit and elicit the perspectives of family members on this topic are warranted. It is also important to consider educational strategies to inform and empower family members on the role, benefits, and use of ICTs in relation to mental health care for FEP.

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