UK National Schizophrenia Awareness Day 2022 – A mental illness in need of destigmatization

UK National Schizophrenia Awareness Day 2022 – A mental illness in need of destigmatization

by | Jul 25, 2022 | Blog, Children and Adolescents

July 25th is National Schizophrenia Awareness Day in the UK, aiming at shining light on “what it means to live with this much misunderstood and often stigmatized mental health condition”, fighting prejudice surrounding it, as well as seeking to raise awareness of and support for its treatment [1].

What is schizophrenia?
Individuals with schizophrenia experience disruptions in their thought processes and perceptions, as well as in social interactions and emotional responsiveness. The mental illness, usually including psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, can be highly disabling to people suffering from it [2].

Economic costs of schizophrenia
Worldwide, around 24 million people are currently diagnosed with schizophrenia [3] – in the UK it is over 685.000 people (approximately 1% of the population) [4].
Schizophrenia has a large economic cost. It accounts for approximately “30% of all spending on adult mental health in the NHS” [5], estimated at 11.8 million GBP in England alone in 2012 [6]. Generally, it costs around 6 times as much to treat an individual with schizophrenia over its lifetime than it costs to treat a heart disease patient [5].

Stigmatization of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia affects all genders and individuals from all social backgrounds, and onsets most often in the late teenage years or in the early twenties [5]. The mental illness severely impacts affected peoples’ quality of life. In the UK, only around 13% of individuals suffering from schizophrenia are working [5], and it has been found that affected people are “2 to 3 times more likely to die early than the general population” [3]. Schizophrenia is also a significant burden that impacts productivity of family caregivers, who on average spend 22 hours a week for 15 years of their life taking care of their relative with schizophrenia.
Additionally, stigma against people suffering from the condition is still “intense and widespread” today [3]. Individuals with schizophrenia oftentimes experience social exclusion, and/or discrimination due to the disease, and some even experience limited “access to general health care, education, housing, and employment” [3]. According to the World Health Organization (2022), these issues often only exacerbate the suffering peoples’ symptoms [3].

What needs to change?
Schizophrenia is not as rare as one might think, and prejudices surrounding the illness unfortunately only further increase the burden of the disease on people suffering from it. It is therefore important to raise awareness about schizophrenia, destigmatize the mental illness, and help to ensure that individuals with schizophrenia are not facing discrimination. Given the high economic costs of schizophrenia, it is also important to continuously work on improving the treatment support provided. This includes seeking for new ways to help individuals suffering from the mental health condition.

How digital solutions for mental health can help
The use of digital platforms for remote patient monitoring and health assessment, as well as real-time patient analytics, could enable personalised treatment and improved quality of care [7]. Digital solutions for mental health could therefore offer the potential to empower and engage individuals with schizophrenia to better manage their mental health, facilitating treatment for clinical professionals and empowering family caregivers to help drive down economic costs and increase productivity.
At Monsenso, we have worked with schizophrenia in both research and clinical settings. Our digital mental health solution has helped many individuals with schizophrenia to better understand their conditions and live a more independent life, as well as helped clinicians to better support their patients. We are proud to support the National Schizophrenia Awareness Day in the UK and will continue to spread knowledge about the mental health condition and offer our support to individuals affected and clinicians providing treatment for the mental illness.
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About Monsenso
Monsenso is an innovative technology company offering a digital health solution used for decentralised trials, remote patient monitoring and treatment support. Our mission is to contribute to improved health for more people at lower costs by supporting treatment digitally and leveraging patient-reported outcomes data. Our solution helps optimise the treatment and gives a detailed overview of an individual’s health through the collection of outcome, adherence, and behavioural data. It connects individuals, carers, and health care providers to enable personalised treatment, remote care, and early intervention. We collaborate with health and social care, pharmaceuticals, and leading researcher worldwide in our endeavours to deliver solutions that fit into the life of patients and health care professionals. To learn more visit  www.monsenso.com.

References:
[1] Awareness Days (n.d.). National Schizophrenia Awareness Day 2022.
https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/national-schizophrenia-awareness-day-2022/#:~:text=National%20Schizophrenia%20Awareness%20Day%2C%20marked,with%20a%20diagnosis%20of%20schizophrenia.

[2] National Institute of Mental Health (n.d.). Schizophrenia.
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/schizophrenia#:~:text=Schizophrenia-,Definition,be%20both%20severe%20and%20disabling.

[3] World Health Organization (2022). Schizophrenia.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/schizophrenia#:~:text=Schizophrenia%20affects%20approximately%2024%20million,%25

[4] Royal College of Psychiatrists (2015). Schizophrenia.
https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/problems-disorders/schizophrenia

[5] Living With Schizophrenia (2017). Facts and Figures.
https://livingwithschizophreniauk.org/facts-and-figures/

[6] Ride, J., Kasteridis, P., Gutacker, N., Aragon Aragon, MJ., Jacobs, R. (2020). Healthcare Costs for People with Serious Mental Illness in England: An Analysis of Costs Across Primary Care, Hospital Care, and Specialist Mental Healthcare. Appl Health Econ Health Policy 18(2):177-188.
doi: 10.1007/s40258-019-00530-2.

[7] Elsevier Health (2022). Clinician of the Future Report 2022.
https://www.elsevier.com/connect/clinician-of-the-future

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Top pain points in the delivery of mental healthcare and how digital technology can help

Top pain points in the delivery of mental healthcare and how digital technology can help

by | Jun 29, 2022 | Blog, Mental Illness, mHealth, Patient Engagement

Close to 1 in 7 people suffer from a mental health condition [1], a leading cause of disability globally [2].
However, 75% of people with mental illnesses do not receive any treatment [3], highlighting the issue of access to mental healthcare, which has only been exacerbated by Covid.

The shortage of trained professionals in mental healthcare is a key contributor to the issue of access [4]. Patients are faced with long waiting queues to receive care [5], with no promise of quality care, given clinicians’ heavy caseload [4]. It is not uncommon that patients only receive 5 mins of clinicians’ time after months of waiting for the appointment [6]. Indeed, a large study by Elsevier Health (2022), involving over 2800 clinicians and nurses from 111 markets, found that almost 1 in 2 of clinicians globally (69% in Europe) admit that time they are able to devote to each individual patient is insufficient “to give them good care” [4].

Clearly, there are plenty of opportunities to improve patients’ access, speed to, and quality of care globally. Promisingly, the same study found that over half of the clinicians (56%) state that patients have become more empowered to manage their own conditions, and that clinicians (62%) expect a change in role towards being more in partnership with patients over the next decade. Given that mental health costs a whopping $16 trillion to the global economy by 2030 [7] and growing, there is an urgent need for solutions that are designed to tackle these issues in a scalable and cost-effective way.

The use of digital technology offers the potential to address this matter. In particular, the use of digital platforms for remote patient monitoring and health assessment could improve access and speed to care, and real-time patient analytics could enable personalised treatment and improved quality of care [4]. Ultimately, to fully benefit from such technology, patient data needs to be managed securely, the design of the solution should focus on the needs of its users, and it should be continually assessed on its ability to deliver value to patients and clinicians.

About Monsenso:
Monsenso is an innovative technology company offering a digital health solution used for decentralised trials, remote patient monitoring and treatment support. Our mission is to contribute to improved health for more people at lower costs by supporting treatment digitally and leveraging patient-reported outcomes data. Our solution helps optimise the treatment and gives a detailed overview of an individual’s health through the collection of outcome, adherence, and behavioural data. It connects individuals, carers, and health care providers to enable personalised treatment, remote care, and early intervention. We collaborate with health and social care, pharmaceuticals, and leading researcher worldwide in our endeavours to deliver solutions that fit into the life of patients and health care professionals. To learn more visit  www.monsenso.com.

References:
[1] World Health Organization (2020). World Mental Health Day: an opportunity to kick-start a massive scale-up in investment in mental health.
https://www.who.int/news/item/27-08-2020-world-mental-health-day-an-opportunity-to-kick-start-a-massive-scale-up-in-investment-in-mental-health#:~:text=Mental%20health%20is%20one%20of,every%2040%20seconds%20by%20suicide.

[2] Wainberg, M. L., Scorza, P., Shultz, J. M., Helpman, L., Mootz, J. J., Johnson, K. A., Neria, Y., Bradford, J. E., Oquendo, M. A., & Arbuckle, M. R. (2017). Challenges and Opportunities in Global Mental Health: a Research-to-Practice Perspective. Current psychiatry reports 19(5): 28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0780-z.

[3] Marchildon, J. (2020). 4 Barriers to Accessing Mental Health Services Around the World.
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/barriers-to-mental-health-around-the-world/.

[4] Elsevier Health (2022). Clinician of the Future Report 2022.
https://www.elsevier.com/connect/clinician-of-the-future.

[5] Royal College of Psychiatrist (2020). Two-fifths of patients waiting for mental health treatment forced to resort to emergency or crisis services.
https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/latest-news/detail/2020/10/06/two-fifths-of-patients-waiting-for-mental-health-treatment-forced-to-resort-to-emergency-or-crisis-services.

[6]. Becker, G., Kempf, D.E., Xander, C.J. et al. (2010). Four minutes for a patient, twenty seconds for a relative – an observational study at a university hospital. BMC Health Serv Res 10(94).
https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6963-10-94.

[7] Lancet Commission. (2018). Report: Mental illness will cost the world $16 trillion (USD) by 2030. Mental Health Weekly 28(39): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1002/mhw.31630.

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New research: Can smartphone data be a digital marker for discriminating bipolar disorder from unipolar disorder?

New research: Can smartphone data be a digital marker for discriminating bipolar disorder from unipolar disorder?

by | Apr 13, 2022 | Bipolar, Blog, mHealth

Unipolar disorder (UD) refers to individuals suffering from depression without experiencing mania, whereas individuals suffering from bipolar disorder (BD) usually face episodes of mania in addition to their depression [1]. Clinicians often encounter difficulties identifying whether depressed patients suffer from BD or UD. Given that the course of illness and related treatments vary for patients with BD and UD, the discrimination between these two disorders is critical [2].

A new research paper has just been published on “Differences in mobility patterns according to machine learning models in patients with bipolar disorder and patients with unipolar disorder” in the Journal of Affective Disorders [2].

This new research investigated whether using the information on activity and mobility of patients with BD and UD as supplementary objective measure could assist in the discrimination between the two conditions [2]. Data for this study has been collected as part of the RADMIS trials, two similarly composed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effect of daily smartphone-based monitoring including a clinical feedback loop in individuals suffering from BD and UD. The Monsenso digital health solution was used for the collection of smartphone-based patient data in the intervention group of the trials [3].

The present study included gathering both passively collected smartphone-based location data and patient-reported smartphone-based data on mood from 65 patients with BD and 75 patients with UD [2]. Smartphone-based self-assessments of mood were completed by all patients, and smartphone data on location reflecting mobility patterns, routine and location entropy (chaos) was collected passively from all patients on a continuous basis over the course of six months [2]. The data collection was followed by an extensive data analysis, comparing differences between the two groups.

Results of the study show patients suffering from BD have significantly lower mobility in, e.g., their total time of daily movement during depressive periods (eB 0.74, 95% CI 0.57; 0.97, p = 0.027). Additionally, the area under the curve (AUC) of location data was rather high in classifying patients with BD compared with patients with UD, although results of the study may be limited by relatively low symptom severity of the participating patients contributing to the dimension of the AUC [2].

The study results suggest alterations in location data may be a promising digital diagnostic marker in patients with BD and UD, and smartphone data on mobility patterns could hence help in discriminating between the two disorders. 

Mads Frost, PhD, Co-Founder & Chief Information Security Officer at Monsenso, who has contributed to the research says: “The work on comparing mobility patterns between patients with bipolar disorder and patients with unipolar disorder has been highly interesting, and we look forward to further explore our data looking for potential digital diagnostic markers”.

 “We are excited that Monsenso is a part of promising new research on digital diagnostic markers, and contributes to the research in and the treatment of mental health and neurological disorders”, says Thomas Lethenborg, CEO at Monsenso.

About Monsenso:
Monsenso is an innovative technology company offering a medical grade digital health solution. Our mission is to help provide better mental health to more people at lower costs. Our solution helps optimise the treatment of mental disorders and gives a detailed overview of an individual’s mental health through the collection of outcome, adherence, and behavioural data. It connects individuals, carers, and health care providers to enable personalised treatment, remote care, and early intervention. Based on continuous research and development, our team is committed to developing solutions that fit seamlessly into the lives of individuals, increase their quality of life and improve the efficacy of mental health treatment. To learn more, visit www.monsenso.com

Research publication:
You can find the research publication in the Journal of Affective disorders here.

References:
[1] Quilty, L., Pelletier, M., DeYoung, C.G. & Bagby, M. (2013). Hierarchical personality traits and the distinction between unipolar and bipolar disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders 147(1-3): 247-254. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032712007604#bib2

[2] Faurholt-Jepsen, M., Busk, J., Rohani D.A., Frost, M. Tønning, M.L., Bardram, J.E. & Kessing, L.V. (2022). Differences in mobility patterns according to machine learning models in patients with bipolar disorder and patients with unipolar disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders 306: 246-253. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032722003019?dgcid=author

[3] Faurholt-Jepsen, M., Tønning, M.L., Frost, M., Martiny, K., Tuxen, N., Rosenberg, N., Busk, J., Winther, O., Thaysen-Petersen, D., Aamund, K.A. & Tolderlund, L., Bardram, J.E. & Kessing, L.V. (2020). Reducing the rate of psychiatric re-admissions in bipolar disorder using smartphones—The RADMIS trial. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 143(5): 453-465. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acps.13274

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Monsenso enters partnership with psychiatric clinic in Greece

Monsenso enters partnership with psychiatric clinic in Greece

by | Mar 7, 2022 | News

Monsenso has entered into a partnership agreement with the Greek psychiatric clinic Tzeranis Psychis Omma to deploy the solution in their clinic from Q2 2022 and drive market expansion of the Monsenso solution on the Greek market.

In 2019, 18% of the Greek population was living with a mental illness [1] – since then, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a significant rise in mental health problems [2]. At the “Meeting of Minds on Quality of Care” conference hosted by WHO/Europe in Athens in December 2021, the necessity to “improve the quality of mental health care for children and adolescents” was emphasised, particularly in light of the Covid 19 pandemic [3]. Greek officials have further highlighted the significance of patient-centricity in mental health services in particular [2].

Psychis Omma has supported individuals with psychological and psychiatric illnesses for over 50 years, aiming at “offering a better life for people suffering from mental disorders, both to themselves and their families” [4]. The clinic provides both inpatient hospitalisation in their facilities in Nea Penteli, close to Athens, as well as (online) psychological support services and external observation [4]. 

The Monsenso Digital Health Solution will be implemented in Psychis Omma’s clinical practice as a tool to support patients in their treatment pathway and to facilitate early intervention and crisis reduction. Moreover, Psychis Omma Mental Health Solutions will act as a partner of Monsenso in Greece, advocating for the benefits of using digital support tools in mental health settings and actively marketing the Monsenso solution on the Greek market.

The Monsenso app for individuals helps patients to keep track of their well-being, symptoms, and medication intake through self-reported data, as well as their behaviour through sensor data collected on mobile phones. The historical data is visualised and helps individuals remember how they have been doing, e.g. between support sessions. It also helps them gain better insight into the behaviours that trigger their symptoms, empowering them to better manage their condition. Healthcare providers access the user data via a web portal for professionals, enabling them to see fluctuations in the mental state of the patients. This can help to predict relevant outcomes and reduce potential relapses and readmissions.

“We are excited to bring the Monsenso Solution to Greece and work with Psychis Omma as a partner who values enabling people with mental illnesses to live better, more independent lives as highly as we do.”, says Thomas Lethenborg, CEO of Monsenso.

“We are looking forward to working with Monsenso as a partner in Greece and to using their digital health solution to offer improved treatment support to more patients. Remote patient monitoring will open new doors to us in terms of our capabilities to actively support individuals outside of treatment sessions.”, says Spyros Tzeranis, Scientific Director of Tzeranis Psychis Omma.

About Tzeranis Psychis Omma 
Tzeranis Psychis Omma is a Greek Neuropsychiatric Clinic founded in 1971, providing specialist health services and supporting individuals with various psychological and psychiatric illnesses. Working with highly experienced and trained nursing and medical staff, the clinic offering both inpatient care and external psychological support aims at enabling more individuals suffering from mental illness to live better lifes.
To learn more visit tzeranis.gr.

About Monsenso
Monsenso is an innovative technology company offering a digital health solution used for decentralised trials, remote patient monitoring and treatment support. Our mission is to contribute to improved health for more people at lower costs by supporting treatment digitally and leveraging patient-reported outcomes data. Our solution helps optimise the treatment and gives a detailed overview of an individual’s health through the collection of outcome, adherence, and behavioural data. It connects individuals, carers, and health care providers to enable personalised treatment, remote care, and early intervention. We collaborate with health and social care, pharmaceuticals, and leading researcher worldwide in our endeavours to deliver solutions that fit into the life of patients and health care professionals. To learn more visit www.monsenso.com.

[1] Stewart, C. (2021). Europe: mental disorders among adolescents in 2019, by country. Statista. https://www-statista-com.esc-web.lib.cbs.dk:8443/statistics/1273254/mental-disorders-among-adolescents-in-europe-by-country/

[2] WHO (2021). Athens Mental Health Summit – Ministers and representatives renew commitment to prioritize mental health in the WHO European Region.
https://www.euro.who.int/en/countries/greece/news/news/2021/8/athens-mental-health-summit-ministers-and-representatives-renew-commitment-to-prioritize-mental-health-in-the-who-european-region

[3] WHO (2021). WHO/Europe and Greece put quality of care at the top of the health agenda. https://www.euro.who.int/en/countries/greece/news/news/2021/12/whoeurope-and-greece-put-quality-of-care-at-the-top-of-the-health-agenda

[4] Psychis Omma Tzeranis Clinic (n.d.). Our Clinic. https://tzeranis.gr/en/our-clinic/

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Norddjurs municipality in Denmark joins a successful back-to-work program supported by the Monsenso digital health solution

Norddjurs municipality in Denmark joins a successful back-to-work program supported by the Monsenso digital health solution

by | Jan 28, 2022 | News

Norddjurs Municipality in the Central Jutland region joins the successful Return-to-Work program, facilitated by several partners including Empano, Sundinvest, Den Sociale Kapitalfond, AS3, PWC and supported by Monsenso’s digital health solution. From February 2022, Monsenso’s digital health solution will be deployed in Norddjurs Municipality to support individuals during their return-to-work process, while collecting real-world insights on outcomes.

The impact of COVID -19 on social care.
The disruption or shutdown of critical mental health services during the COVID -19 pandemic has led to the rapid adoption of technology-enabled care (TEC) in both health care and adult social care (ASC). Today, there is no doubt that digital technologies offer the potential to improve social care, from targeting resources where they are most needed to promote independence in the community through remote care and treatment support.

Commissioning beyond COVID -19
The adoption of technology-enabled care (TEC) also provides an opportunity to move towards a more person-centered and evidence-based model of commissioning that focuses on service delivery outcomes.

Three forward-thinking municipalities in Denmark implement an outcome-based back-to-work service provided by Empano and Monsenso

To date, two forward-thinking municipalities in Denmark (Guldborgsund and Slagelse) have implemented an outcome-based back-to-work service provided by Empano and Monsenso.

The back-to-work services are designed to help citizens with mental illness return to the labour market faster and consist of coping and motivational courses provided by Empano, offered in conjunction with the Monsenso digital health solution for remote treatment support and real wold data collection on outcomes to validate and demonstrate program effectiveness. 

Since February 2022, Norddjurs municipality in the Central Jutland region has also joined the successful program and more municipalities are expected to follow during the year.

About Monsenso
Monsenso is an innovative technology company offering a digital health solution used for decentralised trials, remote patient monitoring and treatment support. Our mission is to contribute to improved health for more people at lower costs by supporting treatment digitally and leveraging patient-reported outcomes data. Our solution helps optimise the treatment and gives a detailed overview of an individual’s health through the collection of outcome, adherence, and behavioural data. It connects individuals, carers, and health care providers to enable personalised treatment, remote care, and early intervention. We collaborate with health and social care, pharmaceuticals, and leading researcher worldwide in our endeavours to deliver solutions that fit into the life of patients and health care professionals. To learn more visit  www.monsenso.com.

To learn more, visit www.monsenso.com

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