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27 June 2019
An interactive mental health care pathway tool helps service users get more involved in their care plans, research published in the Journal of Mental Health and led by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) researchers has shown. Service users were more involved in writing up their mental health records through using the technology, which could also increase staff efficiency.
Mental health policies emphasise the importance of engaging service users in planning their care. However, service users often feel they’re not fully involved and often don’t have access to their own electronic mental health records.
To address this, Otsuka Health Solutions co-designed an electronic care pathway tool with service users and staff at Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health NHS Partnership, to support joint working on care and crisis plans. Staff used the tool with service users on a touchscreen tablet.
This NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care West (CLAHRC West) study investigated staff experiences of using the tool with service users, when they first started using it in their everyday working practice. Researchers asked staff what it was like to introduce the technology to service users, and whether it made a difference to their communications with service users and broader working practices.
Researchers spoke with 15 mental health practitioners, and five service development and management staff, who were asked about wider strategic issues in adopting technology within mental health systems.
The care pathway tool had different features to involve service users in a much more engaging care planning process. The tool could support discussion about people’s support networks, future plans and what to do when they could see early warning signs of a crisis.
Many different factors influenced how staff used the tool. This included both staff and service users’ views of technology and staff relationships with service users. Service users’ mental health needs, whether service users were having particularly difficult times or could engage in more reflective and therapeutic thinking also influenced the tool’s use.
Usual practice was for health records to be kept in offices, and for staff to update these records after they’d visited service users in the community. Some service users were surprised to hear that these records existed and were keen to take part in writing them. The tool enabled this.
The tool saved staff time as they didn’t have to write up their notes on a computer after visiting service users. However, the tool didn’t automatically update the organisation’s electronic health records.
Dr Michelle Farr, from University of Bristol and NIHR CLAHRC West and a lead author of the study, said:
“Our research shows how interactive technology offers new opportunities for staff and service users to work together to plan care. But there were challenges with the different IT systems communicating with one another.
“The NHS is struggling with resource and capacity issues, which many hope technology will alleviate. Technology isn’t always an immediate solution, but our research has shown that, with careful development, tools like this can make a difference.”
Caroline Gadd, Managing Director at Otsuka Health Solutions, said:
“Collaborating with CLAHRC West has been highly valuable to help us learn more about how our digital solutions can have an impact on service users and what we need to improve. Otsuka Health Solutions continues to prioritise working with service users and NHS staff to co-produce digital solutions aiming to enhance the delivery of mental healthcare.”
Pilot implementation of co-designed software for co-production in mental health care planning: A qualitative evaluation of staff perspectives
Michelle Farr, Christalla Pithara, Sarah Sullivan, Hannah Edwards, Will Hall, Caroline Gadd, Julian Walker, Nick Hebden, Jeremy Horwood
Published in Journal of Mental Health