Study of a Digital Pre-therapy Education Program StartHjelp for Adults Waiting for Outpatient Mental Health Care

What this Trial Is About

Community mental health centers face challenges like long waiting lists and low patient engagement for individuals with mental health issues. This study evaluates a digital pre-therapy patient education program called StartHjelp designed for adults with mental disorders. The goal is to improve treatment satisfaction, patient activation, knowledge, engagement, and overall mental health outcomes by using innovative digital self-management education. Participants are randomly assigned to either receive StartHjelp, an app that gradually presents treatment-related information through videos and texts while on the waiting list, or to a control group that receives the same information in written form by mail. The app provides stepwise educational content about the treatment process, options, patient rights, and self-help resources. Patients can watch videos multiple times and access additional information via links. During the study, participants are assessed at multiple time points up to 12 months after the intervention to measure patient satisfaction, activation, knowledge, enablement, mental health, stress, functioning, quality of life, involvement intentions, and expectations. The study aims to improve mental health outcomes without raising service costs, with all data collected through questionnaires and digital tools over about one year.

Evaluation of a Digital Pre-therapy Patient Education Program (StartHjelp) in Outpatient Mental Health Care