Horyzons: Implementation and Integration in Clinical Practice

Purpose: The primary objective is to assess the barriers and facilitators of integrating Horyzons, an evidence-based digital intervention, in outpatient mental health clinics in North Carolina that provide care to individuals with schizophrenia spectrum and other unspecified psychotic disorders. The primary aim is to evaluate and identify the unique barriers and facilitators in implementing Horyzons at each first episode psychosis (FEP) clinic as part of standard care and distinct implementation strategies. The secondary and tertiary aims are to evaluate client engagement with Horyzons and attrition as part of clinical care and assess the change in clients' psychological measures across in addition to their use of state-funded services (e.g., emergency department and social services) across the 12-month intervention.

Participants: To assess the first aim, the investigators will recruit 20 clinicians and/or peer specialists from the FEP clinics. To assess the first and second aim, the investigators will recruit 50 individuals with FEP (i.e., first episode of a schizophrenia spectrum and other unspecified psychotic disorders).

Procedures (methods): Service provider participants will be recruited over a 4-6 week period at their respective clinics. They will be asked to complete an adapted measure, the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN) Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Survey, assessing clinical readiness, leadership, acceptance, adoption, and perspective on evidence-based practices. Service providers will then participate in implementing and integrating Horyzons within clinical practice including preferred implementation strategy that is distinct for each clinic (e.g., Horyzons training, access to the platform by clinicians, ongoing technical support, attendance and update at monthly team meetings, etc.). Service providers will meet with research staff at approximately the 6-month timepoint (+/- 4 weeks) to complete the CPCRN FQHC Survey then upon completion of the effectiveness trial with clients, service providers will complete this measure once again in addition to participating in a qualitative interview based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) around their experience with integrating the platform and identification of barriers and facilitators to Horyzons' implementation. Service providers will be compensated for the completion feedback, including the questionnaire and qualitative interviews.

Client participants will be recruited over a 16- to 20-week period at their respective clinic. Participants will participate in a baseline visit to provide informed consent and complete a brief battery of measures (Demographics and Characteristics, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale, MOS Social Supports Survey). Participants will then meet with a research assistant, peer support specialist, or clinician to be given guidance and instruction for using the site (i.e., Horyzons onboarding). Clients will then engage in the platform, where site usage information as well as experience will be collected from participants through the Horyzons platform. Site usage (e.g., number of posts/comments made on the online platform, number and type of 'Journeys' or 'Tracks', self-guided therapeutic content, completed during time on the platform) will automatically be collected via the platform. Participants will have access and engage in this platform for approximately 12 months, depending on when recruited into trial. During this 12 month engagement period with the platform, client participants will meet with research staff at their midway point to complete the brief battery of measures assessing loneliness and social support and feedback on Horyzons. Upon completion of their engagement with the platform, client participants will additionally participate two additional research visits to complete the battery of measures at 12-months and at a 3-month follow-up. research visits to complete the battery of measures at 12-months and at a 3-month follow-up. As Horyzons involves therapeutic content and is designed to improve psychological outcomes, such as loneliness and social support, this platform is considered part of clinical care provided to individuals by their respective clinic. For this reason, participants will not be compensated for their usage and engagement with the platform, but rather, they will receive compensation for completion of assessment batteries at baseline, midway, final, and follow-up research study visits.

Horyzons will be monitored daily (two hours per weekday and one hour per weekend day) by trained peer support specialists, master's level clinicians, and/or graduate students with relevant clinical/research experience with individuals with psychosis. Drs. David Penn and Kelsey Ludwig, who are clinical psychologists, lead weekly supervision calls to ensure appropriate care and support of clients involved in the trial, to discuss case conceptualization and suggestions for engaging clients in the platform.