The Optimization of an eHealth Solution (Thought Spot) with Transition-Aged Youth in Postsecondary Settings: Participatory Design Research

Abstract

BackgroundSeventy percent of lifetime cases of mental illness emerge before the age of 24 years, but many youth are unable to access the support and services they require in a timely and appropriate way. With most youth using the internet, electronic health (eHealth) interventions are promising tools for reaching this population. Through participatory design research (PDR) engagement methods, Thought Spot, a Web- and mobile-based platform, was redeveloped to facilitate access to mental health services by transition-aged youth (aged 16-29 years) in postsecondary settings.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to describe the process of engaging with postsecondary students through the PDR approaches, with the ultimate goal of optimizing the Thought Spot platform.MethodsConsistent with the PDR approaches, five student-led workshops, attended by 41 individuals, were facilitated to obtain feedback regarding the platform’s usability and functionality and its potential value in a postsecondary setting. Various creative engagement activities were delivered to gather experiences and opinions, including semistructured focus groups, questionnaires, personas, journey mapping, and a world café. Innovative technological features and refinements were also brainstormed during the workshops.ResultsBy using PDR methods of engagement, participants knew that their ideas and recommendations would be applied. There was also an overall sense of respect and care integrated into each group, which facilitated an exchange of ideas and suggestions.ConclusionsThe process of engaging with students to redesign the Thought Spot platform through PDR has been effective. Findings from these workshops will significantly inform new technological features within the app to enable positive help-seeking behaviors among students. These behaviors will be further explored in the second phase that involves a randomized controlled trial.

Effects of a Mobile and Web App (Thought Spot) on Mental Health Help-Seeking Among College and University Students: Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Given the many barriers that make meaningful youth engagement a challenge [ 56 ], obtaining 1291 individual responses during our recruitment is notable in its magnitude, especially given the short time frame (relative to other mental health trials). The high level of engagement in the study suggests that our commitment to co-creating solutions resonates with the postsecondary student population [ 28 ]. It may also reflect students’ enthusiasm for mental health solutions and mHealth-related research, suggesting a need for continued engagement with this population at a time when mental health concerns and suicide rates among youth continue to rise at postsecondary institutions [ 57 , 58 ].…”

“…Participants were recruited using the most effective methods identified by two focus groups and the Thought Spot youth advisory committee during earlier stages of the project [ 28 ]. Participants were recruited through institutional and student-related listservs, bulletin boards, websites, social media, and class presentations.…”

“…Applying principles from participatory action and participatory design research [ 25 , 26 ], the research team produced Thought Spot, an mHealth intervention co-created with transition-aged youth that aims to improve help-seeking behavior related to mental health services for postsecondary settings [ 27 , 28 ]. Thought Spot serves as a map-based database (via a mobile app and website) that allows users to search and geolocate health, mental health, and wellness resources ( Figure 1 ).…”

Surveying the Role of Analytics in Evaluating Digital Mental Health Interventions for Transition-Aged Youth: Scoping Review

“…Although our findings suggest that most papers have been published within the last 6 years, it is possible that we might have missed papers outside of this window in our search strategy. In addition, due to our scope of work on Thought Spot [ 26 , 27 , 29 ], our search was limited to examining interventions designed exclusively for transition-aged youth. Because we excluded papers evaluating interventions for other populations (eg, adults) and disease sites (eg, cardiology), there may have been evidence and guidance on the use of analytics in other areas of health care [ 25 ].…”

Protocol for the development and validation procedure of the managing the link and strengthening transition from child to adult mental health care (MILESTONE) suite of measures

“…There is also a lack of shared decision making across different countries [13] that further hampers the development of such models. In other geographical regions such as in Canada, others have shown that engagement methods using digital approaches i.e., 'Thought Spot', a web-based platform that aims to facilitate transition in youth, can be useful for those in post-secondary settings wishing to access mental health services [14]. More recently, another study is tracking experiences of young people in CAMHS as they transition through the CAMHS/AMHS boundary [15].…”