Copenhagen, Denmark – 28 June 2017. The IMPACHS project funded by Eureka/Eurostars and the Innovation Fund in Demark, has the aim to design, develop and provide clinical evidence for the use of smartphone-based intervention technology for outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia, to improve the availability and cost-effectiveness of mental healthcare.
The project, with a duration of 24 months (June 2017 – June 2019) and a total budget of 1.2 million Euros, brings together leading European research/academic institutions and SMEs.
The IMPACHS project (IMProving Availability and Cost-effectiveness of mental Healthcare for Schizophrenia through mHealth), is done in collaboration between Monsenso, the Psychiatric Research Unit from Region Zealand, time4you, and the University of Hamburg.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective psychological approaches for psychotic symptom reduction, but only 10% of patients receive it due to growing shortage of professionals [1]. Mobile-based CBT interventions (mCBT), as an adjunct to traditional care, provide a unique opportunity to deliver continuous, cost-effective, accessible, non-stigmatizing and timely support to these patients[2], promoting the detection of alarming symptoms and reducing the duration of relapses, observed in 80% of patients[3].
The IMPACHS project aims to develop mobile- and context-aware CBT content, deployed through the time4you IBT® SERVER (eLearning) platform integrated into the Monsenso Clinic mHealth solution for mental illnesses that is HIPAA compliant and has a class 1 CE mark.
The staff at the University of Hamburg have extensive knowledge on using CBT for individuals with schizophrenia and has published several research papers in medical journals related to schizophrenia. The project will leverage their substantial experience in clinical research within schizophrenia to develop the assessments and interventions planned.
The Psychiatric Research Unit of the Zealand Region of Denmark will begin the trial using an improved version of the Monsenso Clinic that offers psycho-education through the integrated IBT e-learning platform that delivers continuous, cost-effective, and timely support to individuals with schizophrenia, complementing their therapy.
Personalised triggers, defined jointly by individuals and therapists based on a person’s behaviours, can be used to detect symptom aggravation in real-time. Mobile CBT can help lower the severity of a person’s symptoms if the content is personalised and disorder-specific.
The objective of the clinical trial is to determine the feasibility of context-aware CBT and psycho-educative content in the users’ recovery process.
With regards to the clinical trial, Thomas Lethenborg, CEO at Monsenso, commented, “Mobile-based CBT and psychoeducation is a cost-efficient solution to complement a person’s treatment. In some cases, it might be the only type of therapy that some people might be able to access, depending on the waiting list for the mental health services, and their financial or geographical situation. This type of solution may be the best way to reach more people at a lower cost.”
Dr. Hartwig Holzapfel, Director of Professional Services, said “IMPACHS opens new ways for outpatient psychotherapy and patient education. With new individualized solutions that include learning analytics and adaptive learning, patients are empowered and gain faster access and better education. Mobile Health solutions are an economical and cost-efficient way of treatment and form an important building block of modern healthcare. Within the IMPACHS-project, time4you is responsible for the technical solution based on the IBT SERVER-software, system integration, and supports partners in developing content with methodical, didactical, medical and technical expertise.”
Click on the links to read the press release in Danish
[1] Bucci et al (2015) Using mobile technology to deliver a cognitive behaviour therapy-informed intervention in early psychosis (Actissist): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials 16:404
[2] Alvarez-Jimenez et al (2014) Online, social media and mobile technologies for psychosis treatment: A systematic review on novel user-led interventions. Schizophrenia Research 156 (2014) 96–106
[3] NICE Guidelines. Psychosis and schizophrenia in adults: treatment and management, [CG178]. London: Excellence NIfHaC; 2014.
For additional information contact:
Jennifer Highland
Marketing and Communications Manager
Monsenso
+45 30 25 15 26
highland@monsenso.com
Axel Wolpert
Senior Consultant
time4you
+49 172 208 43 58
wolpert@time4you.de