Perspective of patients with First-Episode Psychosis, their relatives,
and mental health professionals on the design and usability of an app in
clinical practice.
Abstract
Aims: Therapeutic non-compliance remains the main difficulty for people
with psychotic disorders, standing around 50% in people with
schizophrenia. Lack of treatment adherence, either partial or total, to
medication has economic and clinical consequences. E-health technologies
may be a promising therapeutic tool to improve adherence, with the
subsequent reduction in clinical and economic burden. Incorporating
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has improved the
information patients receive and the relationship between health
professionals and patients. Our aims were to know the preferences on how
technologies in mental health treatment should be for use in clinical
practice, and to learn about the opinion and preferences on the use of
technologies in mental health treatment from the perspectives of
patients with FEP, their relatives, and mental health professionals.
Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was carried out by experts
in psychosis and technologies. 41 patients with a diagnosis of
first-episode psychosis (FEP), 18 relatives and 49 mental health
professionals were included in the study. Results: An app directed to
people with psychosis would be well received by users if it contains
psychoeducational material, offers reminders for scheduled visits and
treatment and allows online consultations. Conclusions: Co-creating an
app with users, their families and mental health professionals allows
incorporating their preferences to increase its use, improve outpatient
care and creating an app that is viable in clinical practice.