Work-focussed CBT via video call and app: our research

As you will have (hopefully!) heard by now, we began offering many of our Back2Work services via video conferencing earlier this year. Feedback from clients and practitioners has been positive so far, and employment outcomes have been consistent with services delivered face-to-face.

This isn’t just something we’re saying. As with everything we do at The Better Health Generation, we are evidence-based. So, we’ve been running a formal study to examine the effectiveness of work-focussed cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) delivered via a telehealth platform and adjunct mobile mental health app.

We’re mid-way through a large scale PhD analysis of the findings, but I can share with you our preliminary results, as I presented them at the Health Informatics Society of Australia conference last month.

On a side note, I was very proud to see our research shortlisted for the prestigious Don Walker Awards at this conference. Although the win ultimately went to another fantastic digital health initiative, I was inspired by the feedback we received from judges and peers, who were all intrigued to see how this work might shape future, high-quality service delivery for our industry.

What we did

First up, here’s what we did. We sought to use work-focussed CBT protocols via video conference. And we sought to enhance that service by adding in a daily, real-time patient monitoring app that looked at reporting of clinical symptomology and work-related confidence. We wanted to make sure wellbeing was improving and for those not working, that their confidence about returning to work was increasing daily.

Our goal was to increase the quality and efficiency of care, which ultimately leads to an increase in the speed of returning a job seeker to work, as we know that good work improves mental health.

What we learned

We needed to identify early adopters of technology and innovation to increase the uptake and we needed to make sure these groups had technology that was compatible.

Overall, video conferencing increased the accessibility of services, engagement with clients increased and client satisfaction was as high as face-to-face.

Some key wins:

·        Unemployed job seekers didn’t need to spend time coming into the employment office; they could instead save that money for transport to interviews or other vital living expenses.

·        Job seekers could engage during a broader range of hours and while employed clients were at work.

·        Job seekers could access shorter, more frequent services that linked health and employment outcomes simultaneously.

·        We could more easily deliver integrated services, as psychologists, occupational therapists and work advisors could be online all at the same time, saving the job seeker from attending two or three separate sessions.

And then we added in the mobile phone app. Initially, this was met with intermittent uptake, largely due to the sheer number of health apps around and their limited success – which set low expectations among many job seekers.

However, when our staff were able to role model how to use the app between sessions and at the start of sessions, usage increased, and job seekers were able to communicate in real-time their daily engagement and progress.

As I mention above, our early results show that with the adoption of both digital health tools, job seekers are achieving the same employment outcomes as face-to-face services. But as many in the current study are based in regional areas, improved accessibility and speed to services are identified as key benefits.

Want to book a demo? Get in touch

Because I am passionate about the potential of this service and excited to be bringing it to market, permit me to end my blog with a quick plug.

If you would like to see how our video conferencing works and chat about how it might work for you, please direct message me or reach out to us via our Back2Work website to book a demo.