Improving Access and Mental Health for Youth Through Virtual Models of Care

Forchuk, Cheryl; Fisman, Sandra; Reiss, Jeffrey P.; Collins, Kerry; Eichstedt, Julie; Rudnick, Abraham; Isaranuwatchai, Wanrudee; Hoch, Jeffrey S.; Wang, Xianbin; Lizotte, Daniel; Macpherson, Shona; Booth, Richard

The overall objective of this research is to evaluate the use of a mobile health smartphone application (app) to improve the mental health of youth between the ages of 14–25 years, with symptoms of anxiety/depression. This project includes 115 youth who are accessing outpatient mental health services at one of three hospitals and two community agencies. The youth and care providers are using eHealth technology to enhance care. The technology uses mobile questionnaires to help promote self-assessment and track changes to support the plan of care. The technology also allows secure virtual treatment visits that youth can participate in through mobile devices. This longitudinal study uses participatory action research with mixed methods. The majority of participants identified themselves as Caucasian (66.9%). Expectedly, the demographics revealed that Anxiety Disorders and Mood Disorders were highly prevalent within the sample (71.9% and 67.5% respectively). Findings from the qualitative summary established that both staff and youth found the software and platform beneficial.