POTENTIAL OF E-MENTAL HEALTH

Dr Ionela Petrea

Head, Trimbos International

Trimbos Institute, Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addictions

we know that e-mental health interventions….

• Cost effective

• Improve access to care – narrow the

treatment gap

• Tackle limited availability of health

professionals

• Address stigma

• Empower people with mental health

problems & their carers

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• Guided or unguided by professionals

• Stand-alone or blended with face-to-face interventions

• Online or off-line

• On a computer, tablet, mobile phone

• Using a variety of platforms

• User-friendly formats using various multi-media resources

E-interventions can be…

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Integration & implementation of e-health tools

• Scalability and dissemination

•Acceptability & uptake among professionals

•Absence of mutually beneficial agreements with private technology sector

•Absence of quality assurance mechanisms

•High demands on evidence-based research which slows transition from innovation to practice

•Absence of agreements of cross-border transferability of e-mental health interventions

• Limited awareness of availability of e-health interventions

Design and development of interventions

• Low adherence among users

• Non-engaging design of many e-mental health interventions that does stimulate participation and retain users’ attention

• High demands on evidence-based research which slows transition from innovation to practice

• Insufficient information for end users on privacy, data ownership, conditions of use, trustworthiness & reliability of websites

Challenges

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Need for addressing

quality & ethical considerations

Need for engagement and coordination with

health professionals

across EU

Need for a strategic plan for

scaling-up e-mental health

interventions in health systems

Need to improve usability of

e-mental health interventions

among service users and carers

Need to optimise cross-border

transferability of e-mental health

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Why Joint framework for action needed at EU level to mainstream e-mental health

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E-health vs. e-mental health

Joint Action. WP4 – Mainstreaming of e-mental health

• Provision of care: health standards, health professionals,

payments, liability

• Role of private sector (IT industry), business models for

e-mental health care

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E-mental health introduces discussions on…

Joint Action. WP4 – Mainstreaming of e-mental health

Opportunities for mainstreaming

Blend e-mental health with…

Care provided by

mental health specialists

Care provided by

family doctors in

primary care

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Action for mainstreaming e-mental health

Include e-mental health alongside with face-to-face interventions into publicly funded health

services

Initiate voluntary agreements with ICT, gaming

industry and other relevant private sector parties

Raise awareness and increase capacity of

(mental) health professionals

Set up at EU level a quality control mechanism for e-

mental health interventions

Integrate e-mental health into overall

e-health policies at EU level and at Member

States level

Next steps for mainstreaming e-mental health

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Action for improved design & dissemination of interventions

Blend models of service delivery

Design for engagement and retention of users

Collaborate with technology experts

Improve quality and feasibility of evaluation

studies

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Next steps for mainstreaming e-mental health