Experiences of a Digital Mental Health Intervention from the Perspectives of Young People Recovering from First-Episode Psychosis: A Focus Group Study

Shalini Lal (), Ryan Tobin, Stephanie Tremblay, John F. M. Gleeson, Simon D’Alfonso, Geraldine Etienne, Ridha Joober, Martin Lepage and Mario Alvarez-Jimenez
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Shalini Lal: School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montréal, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
Ryan Tobin: Youth Mental Health and Technology Lab, Health Innovation and Evaluation Hub, CHUM Research Centre, Montréal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Stephanie Tremblay: Youth Mental Health and Technology Lab, Health Innovation and Evaluation Hub, CHUM Research Centre, Montréal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
John F. M. Gleeson: Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Fitzroy 3065, Australia
Simon D’Alfonso: School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia
Geraldine Etienne: Youth Mental Health and Technology Lab, Health Innovation and Evaluation Hub, CHUM Research Centre, Montréal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Ridha Joober: Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychosis, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montréal, QC H4H 1R3, Canada
Martin Lepage: Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychosis, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montréal, QC H4H 1R3, Canada
Mario Alvarez-Jimenez: Orygen, Parkville 3052, Australia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Horyzons is a digital health intervention designed to support recovery in young people receiving specialized early intervention services for first-episode psychosis (FEP). Horyzons was developed in Australia and adapted for implementation in Canada based on input from clinicians and patients (Horyzons–Canada Phase 1) and subsequently pilot-tested with 20 young people with FEP (Horyzons–Canada Phase 2). Objective: To understand the experiences of young adults with FEP who participated in the pilot study based on focus group data. Methods: Among the twenty individuals that accessed the intervention, nine participated across four focus groups. Three team members were involved in data management and analysis, informed by a thematic analysis approach. A coding framework was created by adapting the Phase 1 framework to current study objectives, then revised iteratively by applying it to the current data. Once the coding framework was finalized, it was systematically applied to the entire dataset. Results: Four themes were identified: (1) Perceiving Horyzons-Canada as helpful for recovery; (2) Appreciating core intervention components (i.e., peer networking; therapeutic content; moderation) and ease of use; (3) Being unaware of its features; and (4) Expressing concerns, suggestions, and future directions. Conclusions: Horyzons-Canada was well received, with participants wanting it to grow in scale, accessibility, and functionality.

Keywords: psychotic disorders; mental health; telemedicine; young adult; mental health services; e-mental health; virtual care; schizophrenia; Horyzons; digital health innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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