Xiaolong Zhang
Hi, my name is Xiaolong. My research is about evaluating a smartphone-based symptom self-monitoring app for psychosis in China. Psychosis causes a significant burden in China, where limited mental health resources hinder access to care. Unlike the community-based care model in many other countries, the mental health care system in China is designed as a hospital-centred care, meaning the majority of well-trained mental health professionals are concentrated in psychiatric hospitals located in urban areas, which creates barriers for people living in rural or remote areas to access care. Smartphone-based remote monitoring offers a promising solution. We developed the YouXin app, a digital remote monitoring tool co-designed with people with psychosis in China, to address the unmet need in mental health provision. On the right side here shows the screenshots of the app, which consist of active and passive monitoring. Active symptom monitoring prompted two times a day randomly to assess the psychotic symptoms and mood symptoms of the participants, and a passive sensing module was used to record location and activity data via GPS and step counts to assess negative symptoms. Participants can opt in and out the passive sensing recording based on their preference throughout the study. We conducted a mixed-method feasibility study to test the validity, feasibility, acceptability, and safety of the app. We successfully recruited 40 participants with 82% completing outcome measures and 60% achieving acceptable active monitoring engagement, and 33% recording sufficient passive monitoring data to extract mobility indicators. And the qualitative interview showed that participants found completing the self-monitoring app rewarding and experienced a sense of achievement. Most participants felt the app was acceptable and easy to use and no unbearable burdens or opportunity costs were reported. Participants found the app easy to use and attributed this to the training provided at the beginning of the study. Privacy and data security were not major concerns for participants largely due to trust in their treating hospital around data protection. A few participants said they had built some form of relationship with the app and would miss the app when the study finished. Thank you for your attention and I look forward to discussing more about this study with you in the conference.
