"Recovery 4 US" - A Photovoice-based Social Media Program (R4US)

"Recovery 4 US" - A Photovoice-based Social Media Program to Enhance the Recovery and Community Participation of Individuals With Psychiatric Disabilities

This study is a randomized trial evaluating "Recovery 4 US", a social media program aimed at the enhancement of community participation and overall recovery of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.This innovative e-mental health program integrates Internet and mobile technologies and is designed to be a self-sustaining recovery-oriented virtual community for individuals living with a disabling mental illness based on the principles of Photovoice.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Mental Illness; Loneliness; Social Isolation
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Recovery 4 Us

Detailed Description

This study is a randomized trial evaluating "Recovery 4 US", a social media program aimed at the enhancement of community participation and overall recovery of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.This innovative e-mental health program integrates Internet and mobile technologies and is designed to be a self-sustaining recovery-oriented virtual community for individuals living with a disabling mental illness based on the principles of Photovoice.

The "Recovery 4 US" program which includes a mobile phone application and a password protected website, has three main components: 1) receipt of daily hope-inspiring message, paired with a corresponding visual image; 2) creation and viewing of recovery-oriented Photovoice works; and 3) opportunity to attend community events initiated by members of the "Recovery 4 US" community.

The benefits of the "Recovery 4 US" program will be evaluated through a randomized trial with n=60 participants. The study will take place at the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Participants will be randomized to the experimental group (provided with a smartphone and access to "Recovery 4 US" application and website) or the control group (provided with a smartphone but without access to the "Recovery 4 US" app or website). We anticipate participation in the program will be associated with reduced loneliness, increased hopefulness, community participation, and overall recovery.

The recruitment goal for this study was amended to n=70.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 68
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
      • Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• are 18 or older
• have been recipients of services at the BU CPR Recovery Center due to having a DSM-V diagnosis of mental illness, including dual diagnosis (dual diagnosis refers to co-occurring mental illness and alcohol/ substance use disorder) as indicated in their records
• are interested in participating in a social media program
• are fluent in English
• have a basic ability to use a mobile phone

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to give full and knowing consent

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Recovery 4 US; This group receives a smartphone with the Recovery 4 US application and access to the application website.	Behavioral: Recovery 4 Us; R4US is a social media program aimed at the enhancement of community participation and overall recovery of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.; Other Names: R4US
No Intervention: Services as usual; This group receives a smartphone but no access to the Recovery 4 US application.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
UCLA Loneliness Scale	A 20-item 4-point Likert-type scale, widely used measure of loneliness and social isolation with Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from .89 to .94	Change from Baseline to 3 months to 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Herth Hope Index	12 item 4-point Likert type scale measuring the level of generalized hopefulness of the individual; the reported Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal consistency of the scale is .97	Change from Baseline to 3 months to 6 months
Perceived Stress Scale	10-item 5-point Likert-type scale self-report measure of the level of stress experienced at a given point of time. It was designed to capture how unpredictable, uncontrollable and overloaded respondents find their lives based on their capacity to cope with stress. Reported internal consistency coefficients for the scale ranged between 0.90 and 0.92	Change from Baseline to 3 months to 6 months
Multi-Dimensional Assessment of Community Participation	Consists of objective and subjective measures of community belonging, inclusion and participation	Change from Baseline to 3 months to 6 months
Recovery Assessment Scale	24-item 5-point Likert rating scale assessing the level of overall recovery among people with psychiatric disabilities.	Change from Baseline to 3 months to 6 months
BASIS-R	measures: mood disturbances, anxiety, interpersonal and role functioning, daily living skills, psychotic symptoms, impulsivity and substance use on a scale from no difficulty to extreme difficulty.	Change from Baseline to 3 months to 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Boston University Charles River Campus
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Zlatka Russinova, PhD, Boston University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 7, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 28, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 28, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): August 30, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 30, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 28, 2018
• Last Verified: November 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Loneliness; Mental Illness; Community; Social Media; Hope
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: 4458

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No