Development of weCope, a mobile app for illness self-management in schizophrenia

Abstract

Objective: To describe the development of weCope, a Portuguese mobile app for people with schizophrenia. Methods: The development of weCope followed 4 stages: I-102 people with psychotic disorders completed an online questionnaire; II-a multidisciplinary focus group was conducted among five mental health professionals; III-we developed the app; IV-9 participants used weCope during 8 weeks to assess its efficiency. Results: weCope targets coping with voices, problem solving, goals setting and stress management, and results indicated that: weCope improved symptoms, sense of recovery and personal and social functioning; 59% of the participants were willing to download an application for illness self-management; professionals revealed some concerns about mHealth but enhanced the high importance to develop these apps; usability testing revealed that 89% considered weCope useful for illness self-management. However, the more years with mental illness, the less importance is given to a mobile application for this purpose. Discussion: weCope was developed through a comprehensive development process and may contribute to a subjective perception of the patient's better well-being and health condition.

Use of technology in supporting goal setting in rehabilitation for adults: a scoping review

“…14 40 45 Others technologies allowed the contact with therapists in crisis situations. 37 This finding aligned with evidence in the literature that technologybased interventions can help people manage physical symptoms 47 and that interventions designed to increase self-efficacy to manage physical symptoms are effective in chronic-disease populations. 48 Only a few of the included technologies were created with the intent of aiding therapists and patients to jointly set rehabilitation goals.…”

“… 19 Another study indicated that older individuals had more difficulties using these technologies. 37 Users wanted their technology to be able to track goals, physical activity and other health measures, such as heart rate, weight and diet, 37 40 as well as have more specific and individualised relevant goals and personalised feedback from health professionals. 31 41 Devi et al conducted semistructured interviews with 16 participants to explore patient experiences of using a web-based cardiac rehabilitation programme.…”

“…For 9 of the 16 technologies (56.3%), there was no identified psychological theory underpinning the approach to goal setting. For the remaining 7 of the 16 technologies (43.7%) the psychological theories used included: Bandura's Social Learning Theory, 18 19 31 32 Self-Determination Theory, 14 17 33 Behavioural Change Theory [34][35][36][37] and Problem Solving Theory. 38 Evidence of the user experience Overall patients reported positive experiences of the technologies included, especially how easy to use or pleasing the technology was.…”

Explorando o uso de aplicativos móveis para autogestão do tratamento em saúde mental: scoping review

“…estudos. [10][11][12][13][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]25,27,28,[30][31][32][33][34][35][37][38][39]42,[44][45][46][47][48]50,52,54 Tendo foco no monitoramento do humor foi encontrado um total de cinco: um sobre a eficácia e outro sobre o desenvolvimento de App denominado MoodPrism; 17,22 um sobre o desenvolvimento do App G-MOJI 34 baseado no automonitoramento do humor por meio de emojis; um com foco na viabilidade de App para promover a SM positiva em adolescentes, chamado CopeSmart; 11 e um outro com foco no desenvolvimento de um App (sem nome) para jovens com Depressão Maior, 27 ideação suicida e autodano. O que se destaca nesse App é o potencial de fornecer graficamente mais evidências sobre a correlação entre o humor autoavaliado e as avaliações clínicas conduzidas por métodos de classificação escrita, tais como escalas.…”

The technology specialist: a 21st century support role in clinical care

“…Research-developed apps for mental and physical health management for people with SMI have empirical evidence for their acceptability and effectiveness. Use of illness management apps for people with SMI, such as FOCUS and weCope, has shown reductions in psychotic and depressive symptoms, and improvements in general functioning; 13,14 people with SMI have shown high rates of engagement with WellWave, an app which promotes physical activity; 6 people with a first episode psychosis who used PRIME, a motivational enhancement app, for 3 months reported fewer depressive symptoms and increased self-efficacy. 15…”