Effectiveness of mHealth Post-discharge Intervention for Patients With Severe Mental Illness

Effectiveness of a Multi-component mHealth Intervention to Improve Post-hospital Transitions of Care for Patients With SMI

The overall aim of this program of research is to improve the continuity of care for patients with serious mental illness (SMI) by supporting a safer and more efficient bridge from hospital to outpatient care using a mobile device-delivered app called Transition-FOCUS (tFOCUS), which has previously been tested in community samples. The purpose of the proposed project is to establish the effectiveness of our empirically-supported, multi-component mHealth intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• psychiatric inpatient/partial hospitalization
• diagnosis of schizophrenia-spectrum disorder or major mood disorder
• planned ongoing mental health treatment post-discharge in the community
• 18 years or older
• ability to speak and read English

Exclusion Criteria:

• lack of smartphone
• homelessness or housing instability that would prevent reliable follow-up
• discharge to a long-term restricted living setting