Patients in London who have a mental illness could soon benefit from “smart” technology thanks to research funding provided by a local Foundation.
LONDON, Ont. - The gradual de-institutionalization of patients living with a mental illness has been occurring in Ontario for decades. To support an effective transition between hospital-based care and community-based care, research is necessary to study new approaches of delivering health care between hospitals and the community to aid those living with a mental illness.
Researchers at Lawson Health Research Institute (Lawson) were recently awarded a $25,000 grant to advance their investigation into the use of smart technologies as a means of providing a more cost-effective strategy for helping patients with mental illness to transition successfully from the hospital into the community.
The research team believes that smart technologies have the potential to address many of the problems within the current mental health system, and have the potential to provide more cost-effective care using a more technologically-focused approach. Providing patients with the tools to help them in their independent living will decrease hospital re-admittance and will provide support for reintegration within the community. Tools that will be utilized through smart technology include mobile and wired technology that would provide cues to individuals to take their medications, remind them of appointments, and prompt them to complete activities of daily living that would assist them in their recovery.
Drs.Deborah Corring and Abraham Rudnick, are studying the use of smart (computerized interactive) apartments within the hospital setting where psychiatric patients can stay for a month prior to discharge. The “smart” apartment allows patients with mental illness to practice living on their own while the technology guides them to their medication and provides a direct communication link to their health care team. The smart technology has been used with other health care populations; the application in mental health care has not been explored systematically until now.
The support provided through the grant will allow the team to expand their research vision. Funding will enable the researchers to study the use of smart devices that the client could take with them upon discharge. The researchers believe that by introducing smart technologies to patients while in hospital, patients will have the opportunity to learn how to use the device properly before being discharged.By providing continued support through the use of smart
The research institute of London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care, London.
