There has been considerable excitement about the potential for technology to help overcome many of the access barriers to treatment for mental health problems. While a large number of randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the potential efficacy of these interventions, attempts to implement and sustain these tools in care and service settings has proven challenging. This project will optimize IntelliCare, an innovative suite of mobile apps for patients with depression and anxiety, specifically for implementation in an integrated primary care setting. The team will employ a User Centered Design approach to align the apps with clinical workflow, and to enhance their usability by both patients and staff. Collaboration with this diverse group of stakeholders will also result in a comprehensive Implementation Plan designed to address the organizational and attitudinal barriers that could prevent the apps from being adopted in clinical practice. Next, we plan to conduct an effectiveness trial comparing the use of the mobile app suite to treatment as usual in a large integrated primary care clinic. In addition to assessing the impact of these apps on symptoms of depression and anxiety, we will assess their cost effectiveness, as well as their usability for patients, providers and administrators. Although this research project will contribute to the empirical literature on behavioral intervention technologies, its primary purpose is to support various aspects of the commercialization plan, including implementation of the system at scale in large integrated health care systems. .
Depression and anxiety have tremendous societal burden in terms of cost, morbidity, quality of life, and mortality. Yet, primary care settings are often ill-equipped to treat mental health problems because of the lack of resources. The public health goal of this SBIR proposal is improve access to evidence-based interventions by implementing a suite of evidence-based mobile apps for depression and anxiety in a real- world clinical practice.
