A Peer-Led Electronic Mental Health Recovery App in a Community-Based Public Mental Health Service: Pilot Trial

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing need for peer workers (people with lived experience of mental health problems who support others) to work alongside consumers to improve recovery and outcomes. In addition, new forms of technology (tablet or mobile apps) can deliver services in an engaging and innovative way. However, there is a need to evaluate interventions in real-world settings. OBJECTIVE: This exploratory proof-of-concept study aimed to determine if a peer worker-led electronic mental health (e-mental health) recovery program is a feasible, acceptable, and effective adjunct to usual care for people with moderate-to-severe mental illness. METHODS: Overall, 6 consumers and 5 health service staff participated in the evaluation of a peer-led recovery app delivered at a community-based public mental health service. The peer worker and other health professional staff invited attendees at the drop-in medication clinics to participate in the trial during June to August 2017. Following the intervention period, participants were also invited by the peer worker to complete the evaluation in a separate room with the researcher. Consumers were explicitly informed that participation in the research evaluation was entirely voluntary. Consumer evaluation measures at postintervention included recovery and views on the acceptability of the program and its delivery. Interviews with staff focused on the acceptability and feasibility of the app itself and integrating a peer worker into the health care service. RESULTS: Consumer recruitment in the research component of the study (n=6) fell substantially short of the target number of participants (n=30). However, from those who participated, both staff and consumers were highly satisfied with the peer worker and somewhat satisfied with the app. Health care staff overall believed that the addition of the peer worker was highly beneficial to both the consumers and staff. CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary findings from this proof-of-concept pilot study suggest that a peer-led program may be a feasible and acceptable method of working on recovery in this population. However, the e-mental health program did not appear feasible in this setting. In addition, recruitment was challenging in this particular group, and it is important to note that these study findings may not be generalizable. Despite this, ensuring familiarity of technology in the target population before implementing e-mental health interventions is likely to be of benefit.Funding for the Apple iPads to conduct the program was provided by the Canberra Hospital Foundation and funding to employ the peer worker was provided by ACT Health. This funding applied to the e-mental health program delivery only. The Menzies School of Health Research also provided the Stay Strong app for the current research cost-free. The research study was conducted using in-kind resources at the Centre for Mental Health Research. This includes funding provided by ACT Health for ACACIA: The ACT Consumer and Carer Mental Health Research Unit. The funding support for ACACIA is managed by a separate area from the one involved in program delivery, and the research was conducted independently of program implementation. MB is supported by Medical Research Future Fund fellowship 1150698

A Peer-Led Electronic Mental Health Recovery App in an Adult Mental Health Service: Study Protocol for a Pilot Trial

BACKGROUND: There is growing demand for peer workers (people who use their own lived experience to support others in their recovery) to work alongside consumers to improve outcomes and recovery. Augmenting the workforce with peer workers has strong capacity to enhance mental health and recovery outcomes and make a positive contribution to the workforce within mental health systems and to the peer workers themselves. Technology-based applications are highly engaging and desirable methods of service delivery. OBJECTIVE: This project is an exploratory proof-of-concept study, which aims to determine if a peer worker-led electronic mental (e-mental) health recovery program is a feasible, acceptable, and effective adjunct to usual treatment for people with moderate to severe mental illness. METHODS: The study design comprises a recovery app intervention delivered by a peer worker to individual consumers at an adult mental health service. Evaluation measures will be conducted at post-intervention. To further inform the acceptability and feasibility of the model, consumers will be invited to participate in a focus group to discuss the program. The peer worker, peer supervisor, and key staff at the mental health service will also be individually interviewed to further evaluate the feasibility of the program within the health service and further inform its future development. RESULTS: The program will be delivered over a period of approximately 4 months, commencing June 2017. CONCLUSIONS: If the peer worker-led recovery app is found to be feasible, acceptable, and effective, it could be used to improve recovery in mental health service consumers

Learning styles, teaching styles and literacy acquisition in upper primary school

Children all possess different abilities when it comes to learning. They also have different ways of approaching learning; different styles of learning that help them to attain understanding of what is being taught to them. Literacy skills play an important part of learning and improving these skills has always been a significant area of interest to all educators. Knowledge about the different ways in which children learn could be of great assistance in developing teaching practices that enable all children to improve their learning capacity. This research was concerned with the learning styles and literacy skills of students and the teaching styles in an upper primary school classroom. It firstly sought to find whether or not teaching styles were catering to the leaming styles of the students and what was the result, if any, of this interaction. The teacher's learning styles and teaching styles were also investigated. These two sets of data were then compared and analysed in terms of their interaction and implications in the academic performance of the four students throughout the period of observation