Mobile phones and the Internet will soon be used to help up to two million Australians manage their mental health problems.
The Black Dog Institute and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) are developing an innovative approach to help people track their wellbeing on a day-to-day basis in areas including mood, sleep, activities, medication, physical activity as well as drug and alcohol abuse.
The target groups are adolescents and adults at risk of developing depression, anxiety or stress, as well as those with existing conditions. Senior Research Fellow at the Black Dog Institute and the School of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales, Dr Judy Proudfoot, said the Black Dog Institute Tracker System is an important initiative that allows ‘just-in-time’’ monitoring.
The first stage in the Tracker System program is the Internet version followed by use of the mobile phone platform. Information is fed back to the users on how they are going and alerts are sent when things aren’t going well, along with links to appropriate self-help tools,” says Dr Proudfoot.
“Such applications are easy to deliver to large numbers of people. At the same time mobile phone use is not restricted by socio-economic status and is the preferred means of communication among adolescents (18 to 24 years) who represent 27 percent of people affected by mental illness,” Dr Proudfoot said.
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