Strength Plan app: a digital alert plan for mental health care clients
Project
The Strength Plan app supports people in mental health care to feel healthy and comfortable and helps them deal with difficult situations. The app encourages self-management and personal control. In this project, the app is being introduced in mental health care.
Clients can enter what they feel, think or do into the Strength Plan app at times of their choosing. This information helps them in conversations with care providers and loved ones. Together, they can set recovery goals and helpful actions. The Strength Plan is tailored to what someone needs to feel good. The app was developed on the initiative of experts by experience from the Parnassia Group mental health care institution in collaboration with the eHealth organisation Therapieland.
We know from research that using an alert plan can help prevent a crisis or mental health admission.
Yolanda Nijssen
Professor by special appointment
Method
The Strength Plan is being introduced in various healthcare organisations with the help of action research in a learning network of healthcare providers, clients and their loved ones. They will work with the Strength Plan both individually and in groups. During the action research, we collect both quantitative and qualitative data from users. We discuss this data in inspirational meetings. These meetings help the teams to further implement the Strength Plan.
Social impact
Mental health care is facing major challenges: there are concerns about the quality of care, long waiting lists and a shortage of staff. This is putting pressure on the future of mental health care. The Strength Plan helps clients take a step forward: from “being helped” to “learning to help yourself (and others)”. This is in line with the objectives of the Integral Care Agreement (IZA), such as more digital care. The Strength Plan can also ensure that clients leave mental health care more quickly.
Connection with education
During the pilot with the Krachtplan app, it became apparent that healthcare professionals sometimes find it difficult to guide clients in using an app. They also find it difficult to use the data from the app in treatment. In this project, we are gaining more experience with this. We are also developing teaching modules for healthcare professionals. These modules cover digital skills, supporting clients with self-monitoring and using the data for joint decision-making in treatment.
Expected results/products
The results will be converted into a toolkit with advice on implementation and educational modules for mental health care. Researchers will also incorporate the results into the study programmes of various healthcare training courses, focusing on digital care and recovery support for clients.
Lectureships/labs involved
- Recovery-Oriented Practice in Severe Mental Illness
- Integrated Complex Care
- Smart Health and Vitality Lab
Project team AUAS
- Yolanda Nijssen
- Corine Latour
- Mirrian Hilbink-Smolders
External partners
- Parnassia Groep
- Therapieland
- Familie als bondgenoot
- MIND
- Arkin GGZ
- Lentis GGZ
- Altrecht GGZ
- Dokter Bosman GGZ
- Hogeschool InHolland
Recovery-Oriented Practice in Severe Mental Illness research group
This project falls under Recovery-Oriented Practice in Severe Mental Illness research group. Want to know more?