Realising the Value of Digital Tools for Personalised and Measurement-Based Care in Youth Mental Health Services
Access status:
Open Access
Type
ThesisThesis type
Doctor of PhilosophyAuthor/s
Chong, Min KyungAbstract
Mental ill-health among youth is a global concern, affecting one in seven adolescents. Despite rising demand, timely and appropriate care remains limited, partly due to the heterogeneous and comorbid nature of youth symptoms. Blended care models, which integrate digital tools into ...
See moreMental ill-health among youth is a global concern, affecting one in seven adolescents. Despite rising demand, timely and appropriate care remains limited, partly due to the heterogeneous and comorbid nature of youth symptoms. Blended care models, which integrate digital tools into traditional services, offer scalable solutions for care stratification and personalised measurement-based care (MBC). However, the uptake of these tools in youth mental health services is suboptimal. While engagement moderators have been identified, understanding of the mechanisms driving sustained engagement remain limited. This thesis evaluates capacities and engagement of digital tools for personalised MBC in services. Chapter 2 validates a rule-based algorithm that differentiates young people at lower and higher risk of developing full-threshold mental disorders. Chapter 3 examines a digital suicidality notification system, showing its capacity to trigger timely clinical responses based on acuity. Chapter 4 explores barriers and facilitators of digitally-enabled MBC among youth, while Chapter 5 investigates their experiences of using a digital MBC tool as part of routine care in real-time. Findings of Chapters 4 and 5 reveal their enthusiasm for integrating digital tools into care. However, they also demonstrate clinical relevance and collaborative use with clinicians as critical factors for sustained engagement. Chapter 6 further supports the importance of clinical relevance by demonstrating that personalising the tool use through a goal-setting feature enhances engagement, leading to frequent and prolonged use. Altogether, this thesis highlights the potential of digital tools to deliver timely and personalised care. Furthermore, by introducing the Realisation Chasm, the gap between young people’s expectations for digital MBC tools and the realisation of their benefits, this thesis provides strategies for ensuring meaningful integration of digital tools into mental health services.
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See moreMental ill-health among youth is a global concern, affecting one in seven adolescents. Despite rising demand, timely and appropriate care remains limited, partly due to the heterogeneous and comorbid nature of youth symptoms. Blended care models, which integrate digital tools into traditional services, offer scalable solutions for care stratification and personalised measurement-based care (MBC). However, the uptake of these tools in youth mental health services is suboptimal. While engagement moderators have been identified, understanding of the mechanisms driving sustained engagement remain limited. This thesis evaluates capacities and engagement of digital tools for personalised MBC in services. Chapter 2 validates a rule-based algorithm that differentiates young people at lower and higher risk of developing full-threshold mental disorders. Chapter 3 examines a digital suicidality notification system, showing its capacity to trigger timely clinical responses based on acuity. Chapter 4 explores barriers and facilitators of digitally-enabled MBC among youth, while Chapter 5 investigates their experiences of using a digital MBC tool as part of routine care in real-time. Findings of Chapters 4 and 5 reveal their enthusiasm for integrating digital tools into care. However, they also demonstrate clinical relevance and collaborative use with clinicians as critical factors for sustained engagement. Chapter 6 further supports the importance of clinical relevance by demonstrating that personalising the tool use through a goal-setting feature enhances engagement, leading to frequent and prolonged use. Altogether, this thesis highlights the potential of digital tools to deliver timely and personalised care. Furthermore, by introducing the Realisation Chasm, the gap between young people’s expectations for digital MBC tools and the realisation of their benefits, this thesis provides strategies for ensuring meaningful integration of digital tools into mental health services.
See less
Date
2025Rights statement
The author retains copyright of this thesis. It may only be used for the purposes of research and study. It must not be used for any other purposes and may not be transmitted or shared with others without prior permission.Faculty/School
Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Medical SciencesDepartment, Discipline or Centre
Brain and Mind CentreAwarding institution
The University of SydneyShare