Overview

Mental Health Engagement Network

The Mental Health Engagement Network (MHEN) introduced, delivered and evaluated the benefits of using web and mobile technologies to provide supportive healthcare to individuals who most urgently require it, such as those living within our communities suffering from depression/mood disorders and schizophrenia.

The MHEN project recruited 400 research participants from the case loads of 54 mental health care providers. Each client participant was randomly assigned into Group 1 (early intervention) or Group 2 (later intervention). Group 1 participants received an iPhone 4S, a TELUS health space™ account, and version 1.0 of the Lawson SMART Record (a web-based application that provides individuals with a personal health record and tools to help them manage their health) in July, 2012. Participants in Group 2 initially acted as a control group, and received the intervention in March, 2013. Several studies have been published describing the details of study implementation and study findings including, “Mental Health Engagement Network: An Analysis of Outcomes Following a Mobile and Web-Based Intervention” (Forchuk et al., in press), “Mental Health Engagement Network: Innovating Community-Based Mental Healthcare” (Forchuk et al., 2014), and “Mental Health Engagement Network” (Forchuk et al., 2013). As hypothesized, the use of web and mobile based technologies in mental health care can improve the lives of those living in the community with mental illness and reduce health care costs as a result.

This project was funded by Canada Health Infoway and Lawson Health Research Institute and took place in London, Ontario through the London Health Sciences Centre, St. Joseph’s Health Care and the Canadian Mental Health Association – London branch.

Publications

  • Forchuk, C., Rudnick, A., Reiss, J., Hoch, J., Donelle, L., Corring, D., Godin, M., Osaka, W., Campbell, R., Capretz, M., Reed, J., McKillop, M. (in press). Mental Health Engagement Network: An Analysis of Outcomes Following a Mobile and Web-Based Intervention. Journal of Technologies in Society.
  • Forchuk, C., Rudnick, A., Hoch, J., Donelle, L., Campbell, R., Osaka, W., Edwards, B., Osuch, E., Norman, R., Vingilis, E., Mitchell, B., Reiss, J., Corring, D., Petrenko, M, Godin, M., Reed, J., & McKillop, M. (2014). Mental Health Engagement Network: Innovating Community-Based Mental Healthcare. Journal of General Practice, 2:143. doi: 10.4172/2329-9126.1000143. Link
  • Forchuk, C., Rudnick, A., Hoch, J., Godin, M., Donelle, L., Rasmussen, D., Campbell, R., Osaka, W., Edwards, B., Osuch, E., Norman, R., Vingilis, E., Mitchell, B., Reiss, J., Petrenko, M, Corring, D., & McKillop, M. (2013) Mental Health Engagement Network. International Journal on Advances in Life Sciences, 5, 1 – 10. Link

Youth - Mental Health Engagement Network Project

This 6 month study employed an exploratory descriptive design to test youths’ perceptions of employing a standardized mood assessment tool given in a mobile format. Quantitative and qualitative research methodology was used. Participants included 41 clients receiving outpatient services from one of 9 participating care providers at either London Health Sciences Centre or St. Joseph’s Regional Mental Health Care London. All participating clients attended a training session where they received a Samsung Galaxy Android and training on the Lawson SMART Record (LSR).

Focus groups were held with participating care providers and clients throughout the study. Emerging themes indicated by the data included that the use of the LSR was related to the severity of illness and treatment intensity, LSR users reported increased self-awareness and autonomy, use of the LSR affected the therapeutic relationship. This initial phase was a test of principle to lay the groundwork for a larger evaluation of this approach with youth.

This study was funded by The Sandbox Project and took place in London, Ontario through the London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph's Health Care.