Augmenting Mental Health Support for Patients Accessing Different Degrees of Formal Psychiatric Care through a Supportive Text Messaging Program: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

ABSTRACT: Patients feel more vulnerable when accessing community mental health programs for the first time or after being discharged from psychiatric inpatient units. Long wait times for follow-up appointments, shortage of mental health professionals, lack of service integration, and scarcity of tailored support can weaken their connection to the health care system. As a result, patients can present low adherence, dissatisfaction with treatment, and recurrent hospitalizations. Finding solutions to avoid unnecessary high-cost services and providing tailored and cost-effective mental health interventions may reduce the health system burden and augment patient support. We propose implementing an add-on, supportive text messaging service (Text4Support), developed using cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT

SUBMITTER: Dias RDL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9959317 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature