A Qualitative Study of Service User and Staff Views on Digital Remote Monitoring for Unusual Distressing Experiences (psychosis)

Psychosis is a severe mental health problem. Symptoms of psychosis include hallucinations (e.g. hearing voices that others cannot hear) and delusions (unusual, often troubling beliefs). People who experience psychosis often have times when their symptoms are relatively stable. At other times, their symptoms may increase and become much more problematic (a 'relapse'). Helping people with psychosis to stay well (preventing relapses) is an important and time-consuming challenge for mental health services.

Smartphones and other digital technologies are now widespread. This offers a solution to help tackle the overwhelming demand on services and to enable people with psychosis to access mental health support when they need it most (e.g. when relapsing). Research shows that people with psychosis are often willing to report their symptoms using a smartphone app. Apps like this can alert health professionals when someone needs extra support, but can be burdensome to use long-term. The investigators want to make a system that is less burdensome and is personalised to users' needs and experiences (a 'complex digital remote monitoring system'). Recent research shows that information gathered routinely by individuals' smartphones (e.g. GPS, step count) might help predict relapses of psychosis. The investigators want to use this method in a complex digital remote monitoring system. First, the investigators need to know what people with psychosis and mental health staff think about this idea.

The investigators will interview around sixty adults with psychosis and around forty staff, recruited from UK mental health services (Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, London, Sussex). These one-off, audio-recorded interviews will last up to 60 minutes. The interviewer will ask about participants' views on complex digital remote monitoring. The investigators will then systematically analyse the interviews. Findings will inform the design of the investigators' own complex digital remote monitoring system and future digital tools designed by other researchers. NIHR and Wellcome are funding this study.