A Peer-Led Electronic Mental Health Recovery App in an Adult Mental Health Service: Study Protocol for a Pilot Trial

BACKGROUND: There is growing demand for peer workers (people who use their own lived experience to support others in their recovery) to work alongside consumers to improve outcomes and recovery. Augmenting the workforce with peer workers has strong capacity to enhance mental health and recovery outcomes and make a positive contribution to the workforce within mental health systems and to the peer workers themselves. Technology-based applications are highly engaging and desirable methods of service delivery. OBJECTIVE: This project is an exploratory proof-of-concept study, which aims to determine if a peer worker-led electronic mental (e-mental) health recovery program is a feasible, acceptable, and effective adjunct to usual treatment for people with moderate to severe mental illness. METHODS: The study design comprises a recovery app intervention delivered by a peer worker to individual consumers at an adult mental health service. Evaluation measures will be conducted at post-intervention. To further inform the acceptability and feasibility of the model, consumers will be invited to participate in a focus group to discuss the program. The peer worker, peer supervisor, and key staff at the mental health service will also be individually interviewed to further evaluate the feasibility of the program within the health service and further inform its future development. RESULTS: The program will be delivered over a period of approximately 4 months, commencing June 2017. CONCLUSIONS: If the peer worker-led recovery app is found to be feasible, acceptable, and effective, it could be used to improve recovery in mental health service consumers.