Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Mental Health
Date Submitted: May 30, 2020
Date Accepted: Oct 6, 2020
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The blended electronic-Illness Management and Recovery program for people with severe mental illness: a qualitative process evaluation alongside a trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Against the backdrop of the great promise of e-mental health, we tested the e- Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) intervention, which coincide the standard IMR programme content and methodology into face-to-face and Internet based strategies on the constructed e-IMR platform. The e-IMR platform was used too little to provide definite conclusions on the potential efficacy of e-health for people with severe mental illness (SMI).
Objective:
This study aims to identify if the added value of the e-IMR intervention and which barriers and facilitators can explain the low use of the e-IMR platform.
Methods:
This process evaluation was designed alongside a multi-centre cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT). Qualitative data were gathered at the endpoint in semi-structured interviews with trial participants and trainers. Baseline characteristics were used to compare the users and non-users. The study population comprised of participants and trainers from the intervention arm of the e-IMR RCT.
Results:
Out of 41 participants 14 used the e-IMR platform. Twenty-seven participants and eleven trainers were interviewed at the endpoint. e-IMR’s components that had added value were the persuasive nature of using goal-tracking sheets and monitoring and the peer-testimonials’ potential to enhance group discussions and participants’ disclosure. The low use of the e-IMR platform was influence by: the platform’s inflexibility, the lack of IT resources, the group context, the participants’ low computer skills and disabilities, and the trainers’ hesitant e-health attitude.
Conclusions:
The extent of e-health readiness and correlations with vulnerabilities in persons with SMI need to be further investigated. this study shows that use of e-IMR components need flexible options, provided only in response to a participant’s need. Providing the e-IMR in the future is preconditioned by checking available IT resources, providing tablets to participants in group settings, providing computer/Internet guidance to participants before or parallel to the group sessions, checking the e-health attitude and skills of trainers, and providing necessary e-health training to increase the skills of future e-IMR trainers. Clinical Trial: https://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=4772
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