Dataset Information

The Optimization of an eHealth Solution (Thought Spot) with Transition-Aged Youth in Postsecondary Settings: Participatory Design Research.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Seventy percent of lifetime cases of mental illness emerge before the age of 24 years, but many youth are unable to access the support and services they require in a timely and appropriate way. With most youth using the internet, electronic health (eHealth) interventions are promising tools for reaching this population. Through participatory design research (PDR) engagement methods, Thought Spot, a Web- and mobile-based platform, was redeveloped to facilitate access to mental health services by transition-aged youth (aged 16-29 years) in postsecondary settings.

Objective

The aim of this study was to describe the process of engaging with postsecondary students through the PDR approaches, with the ultimate goal of optimizing the Thought Spot platform.

Methods

Consistent with the PDR approaches, five student-led workshops, attended by 41 individuals, were facilitated to obtain feedback regarding the platform's usability and functionality and its potential value in a postsecondary setting. Various creative engagement activities were delivered to gather experiences and opinions, including semistructured focus groups, questionnaires, personas, journey mapping, and a world café. Innovative technological features and refinements were also brainstormed during the workshops.

Results

By using PDR methods of engagement, participants knew that their ideas and recommendations would be applied. There was also an overall sense of respect and care integrated into each group, which facilitated an exchange of ideas and suggestions.

Conclusions

The process of engaging with students to redesign the Thought Spot platform through PDR has been effective. Findings from these workshops will significantly inform new technological features within the app to enable positive help-seeking behaviors among students. These behaviors will be further explored in the second phase that involves a randomized controlled trial.

SUBMITTER: VanHeerwaarden N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5861299 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The Optimization of an eHealth Solution (Thought Spot) with Transition-Aged Youth in Postsecondary Settings: Participatory Design Research.

VanHeerwaarden Nicole N Ferguson Genevieve G Abi-Jaoude Alexxa A Johnson Andrew A Hollenberg Elisa E Chaim Gloria G Cleverley Kristin K Eysenbach Gunther G Henderson Joanna J Levinson Andrea A Robb Janine J Sharpe Sarah S Voineskos Aristotle A Wiljer David D

Journal of medical Internet research 20180306 3

<h4>Background</h4>Seventy percent of lifetime cases of mental illness emerge before the age of 24 years, but many youth are unable to access the support and services they require in a timely and appropriate way. With most youth using the internet, electronic health (eHealth) interventions are promising tools for reaching this population. Through participatory design research (PDR) engagement methods, Thought Spot, a Web- and mobile-based platform, was redeveloped to facilitate access to mental ...[more]

PMID: 29510970

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectiveTo evaluate the perceived usability of and user engagement with a digital platform (Thought Spot) designed to enhance mental health and wellness help-seeking among transition-aged youth (TAY; 17-29-years old).Materials and methodsSurvey responses and usage patterns were collected as part of a randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of Thought Spot. Participants given Thought Spot completed an adapted Usefulness, Satisfaction, and Ease of Use (USE) Questionnaire to measure perceived usability of the platform. User engagement patterns on Thought Spot were examined using analytics data collected throughout the study (March 2018-June 2019).ResultsA total of 131 transition-aged participants completed the USE questionnaire and logged on to Thought Spot at least once. Ease of learning scored higher than ease of use, usefulness and satisfaction. Participants identified numerous strengths and challenges related to usability, visual appeal, functionality and usefulness of the content. In terms of user engagement, most participants stopped using the platform after 3 weeks. Participants searched and were interested in a variety of resources, including mental health, counselling and social services.DiscussionParticipants reported mixed experiences while using Thought Spot and exhibited low levels of long-term user engagement. User satisfaction, the willingness to recommend Thought Spot to others, and the willingness for future use appeared to be influenced by content relevance, ease of learning, available features, and other contextual factors. Analysis of the types of resources viewed and searches conducted by TAY end-users provided insight into their behaviour and needs.ConclusionUsers had mixed perceptions about the usability of Thought Spot, which may have contributed to the high attrition rate. User satisfaction and engagement appears to be influenced by content relevance, ease of learning, and the types of features available. Further investigation to understand the contextual factors that affect TAYs' adoption and engagement with digital mental health tools is required.

Project description:BackgroundThere is growing interest in using mobile apps and online tools to support postsecondary student mental health, but most of these solutions have suboptimal user engagement in real-world settings. Poor engagement can limit long-term effectiveness and usefulness of these tools. Previous literature has proposed several theories that link factors such as low usability and poor user-centered design to app disengagement. However, few studies provide direct evidence showing what factors contribute to suboptimal user engagement in the context of mobile mental health apps for postsecondary students.ObjectiveThis study focuses on understanding postsecondary students' attitudes and behaviors when using Thought Spot, a co-designed mental health app and online platform, to understand factors related to engagement and user experience.MethodsStudents who were given access to Thought Spot for 6 months during a randomized trial of the intervention were invited to participate in one-on-one semistructured interviews. The interviews explored participants' overall experiences and perceptions of the app, along with factors that affected their usage of various features. All interviews were recorded, and template analysis was used to analyze transcripts.ResultsUser satisfaction was mixed among users of Thought Spot. The degree of engagement with the app appeared to be affected by factors that can be grouped into 5 themes: (1) Students valued detailed, inclusive, and relevant content; (2) Technical glitches and a lack of integration with other apps affected the overall user experience and satisfaction with the app; (3) Using the app to support peers or family can increase engagement; (4) Crowdsourced information from peers about mental health resources drove user engagement, but was difficult to obtain; and (5) Users often turned to the app when they had an immediate need for mental health information, rather than using it to track mental health information over time.ConclusionsContent, user experience, user-centeredness, and peer support are important determinants of user engagement with mobile mental health apps among postsecondary students. In this study, participants disengaged when the app did not meet their expectations on these determinants. Future studies on user engagement should further explore the effectiveness of different features and the relative importance of various criteria for high-quality apps. Further focus on these issues may inform the creation of interventions that increase student engagement and align with their mental health needs.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03412461; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03412461.International registered report identifier (irrid)RR2-10.2196/resprot.6446.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Youth demonstrate a low propensity to seek help for mental health issues and exhibit low use of health services despite the high prevalence of mental health challenges in this population. Research has found that delivering interventions via the internet and mobile devices is an effective way to reach youth. Thought Spot, a Web- and mobile-based map, was developed to help transition-aged youth in postsecondary settings overcome barriers to help-seeking, thereby reducing the economic burden associated with untreated mental health issues. OBJECTIVE:This paper presents the protocol for an economic evaluation that will be conducted in conjunction with a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effectiveness and cost of Thought Spot compared with usual care in terms of self-efficacy for mental health help-seeking among postsecondary students. METHODS:A partially blinded RCT will be conducted to assess the impact of Thought Spot on the self-efficacy of students for mental health help-seeking. Students from 3 postsecondary institutions in Ontario, Canada will be randomly allocated to 1 of 2 intervention groups (resource pamphlet or Thought Spot) for 6 months. The economic evaluation will focus on the perspective of postsecondary institutions or other organizations interested in using Thought Spot. Costs and resources for operating and maintaining the platform will be reported and compared with the costs and resource needs associated with usual care. The primary outcome will be change in help-seeking intentions, measured using the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire. The cost-effectiveness of the intervention will be determined by calculating the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, which will then be compared with willingness to pay. RESULTS:The RCT is scheduled to begin in February 2018 and will run for 6 months, after which the economic evaluation will be completed. CONCLUSIONS:We expect to demonstrate that Thought Spot is a cost-effective way to improve help-seeking intentions and encourage help-seeking behavior among postsecondary students. The findings of this study will help inform postsecondary institutions when they are allocating resources for mental health initiatives. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03412461; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03412461 (Archived at WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6xy5lWpnZ).

Project description:BackgroundAntimicrobial resistance poses a threat to patient safety worldwide. To stop antimicrobial resistance, Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs; programs for optimizing antimicrobial use), need to be implemented. Within these programs, nurses are important actors, as they put antimicrobial treatment into effect. To optimally support nurses in ASPs, they should have access to information that supports them in their preparation, administration and monitoring tasks. In addition, it should help them to detect possible risks or adverse events associated with antimicrobial therapy. In this formative study, we investigate how nurses' can be supported in ASPs by means of an eHealth intervention that targets their information needs.MethodsWe applied a participatory development approach that involves iterative cycles in which health care workers, mostly nurses, participate. Focus groups, observations, prototype evaluations (via a card sort task and a scenario-based information searching task) and interviews are done with stakeholders (nurses, managers, pharmacist, and microbiologist) on two pulmonary wards of a 1000-bed teaching hospital.ResultsTo perform the complex antimicrobial-related tasks well, nurses need to consult various information sources on a myriad of occasions. In addition, the current information infrastructure is unsupportive of ASP-related tasks, mainly because information is not structured to match nurse tasks, is hard to find, out of date, and insufficiently supportive of awareness. Based our findings, we created a concept for a nurse information application. We attuned the application's functionality, content, and structure to nurse work practice and tasks.ConclusionsBy applying a participatory development approach, we showed that task support is a basic need for nurses. Participatory development proved useful regarding several aspects. First, it allows for combining bottom-up needs (nurses') and top-down legislations (medical protocols). Second, it enabled us to fragmentise and analyse tasks and to reduce and translate extensive information into task-oriented content. Third, this facilitated a tailored application to support awareness and enhance patient safety. Finally, the involvement of stakeholders created commitment and ownership, and helped to weigh needs from multiple perspectives.

Project description:BackgroundPeople with a low socioeconomic position (SEP) are less likely to benefit from eHealth interventions, exacerbating social health inequalities. Professionals developing eHealth interventions for this group face numerous challenges. A comprehensive guide to support these professionals in their work could mitigate these inequalities.ObjectiveWe aimed to develop a web-based guide to support professionals in the development, adaptation, evaluation, and implementation of eHealth interventions for people with a low SEP.MethodsThis study consisted of 2 phases. The first phase involved a secondary analysis of 2 previous qualitative and quantitative studies. In this phase, we synthesized insights from the previous studies to develop the guide's content and information structure. In the second phase, we used a participatory design process. This process included iterative development and evaluation of the guide's design with 11 professionals who had experience with both eHealth and the target group. We used test versions (prototypes) and think-aloud testing combined with semistructured interviews and a questionnaire to identify design requirements and develop and adapt the guide accordingly.ResultsThe secondary analysis resulted in a framework of recommendations for developing the guide, which was categorized under 5 themes: development, reach, adherence, evaluation, and implementation. The participatory design process resulted in 16 requirements on system, content, and service aspects for the design of the guide. For the system category, the guide was required to have an open navigation strategy leading to more specific information and short pages with visual elements. Content requirements included providing comprehensible information, scientific evidence, a user perspective, information on practical applications, and a personal and informal tone of voice. Service requirements involved improving suitability for different professionals, ensuring long-term viability, and a focus on implementation. Based on these requirements, we developed the final version of "the inclusive eHealth guide."ConclusionsThe inclusive eHealth guide provides a practical, user-centric tool for professionals aiming to develop, adapt, evaluate, and implement eHealth interventions for people with a low SEP, with the aim of reducing health disparities in this population. Future research should investigate its suitability for different end-user goals, its external validity, its applicability in specific contexts, and its real-world impact on social health inequality.

Dataset Information

The Optimization of an eHealth Solution (Thought Spot) with Transition-Aged Youth in Postsecondary Settings: Participatory Design Research.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

The Optimization of an eHealth Solution (Thought Spot) with Transition-Aged Youth in Postsecondary Settings: Participatory Design Research.

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