Designing a Plan for Outcome Evaluation

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AI and Smartphone-Assisted Therapy Program

Erika Tallent

Walden College

09/25/2022

AI and Smartphone-Assisted Therapy Program

Mental health determines how people relate to others and handle life issues. It encompasses social, psychological, and emotional well-being and is important in every stage of life. Various programs to enhance mental health increase the protective factors and encourage healthy behaviors to enhance the quality of life and efficiency in brain functionality. My field placement at a private mental health counseling center taught me the significance of mental health and enabled me to identify the various gaps existing between society and mental wellness. Mental health involves anger and trauma management and also addresses drug and substance abuse and suggests potential programs to improve human health. Technology is essential in mental health, but the agency is reluctant to introduce technology and automation programs to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. I would develop an AI and Smartphone-Assisted Therapy to reduce congestion in health facilities and improve healthcare quality.

AI and Smartphone-Assisted Therapy programs enable patients to manage their symptoms and seek specialist attention at the early stages of mental problems. The program would introduce smartphone apps capable of identifying and collecting patient data and sharing it with medical practitioners for health attention and advice. After the identification and collection of patient data, the program will recommend a human counselor for intervention. The gap between mental health and technology in the agency would reduce by incorporating the therapy program into daily activities. The technology could be utilized in medical and patient data departments, patient monitoring and communication, and telemedicine. The program would include the patients, medical practitioners, patients' relatives, and friends and caregivers. A smartphone-assisted program would reduce patient mobility and encourage them to contact the doctors from their individual residences.

The proposed program would create a good environment and timely professional input to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in addressing mental health. It would address the shortage of therapists by setting computers and technology-operated devices to perform some human functions to improve mental health and reduce the associated stigma. AI therapy programs would offer a private session between mental health patients and the nursing professionals and long-term process solutions will be formulated to address the challenges encountered by mental health patients. A mental health technology program would be so appealing because it reduces healthcare costs and improves the quality of care. Gathering credible information to support the need for the AI and Smartphone-Assisted Therapy program would require interviews and surveys to acquire the society's and stakeholders' views and opinions about the implementation and expected benefits. Interviews and surveys would involve the primary mental health stakeholders – patients, nursing professionals, and the community.

References

Dudley, J. R. (2020).  Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do. Oxford University Press, USA.

Miralles, I., Granell, C., Díaz-Sanahuja, L., Van Woensel, W., Bretón-López, J., Mira, A., ... & Casteleyn, S. (2020). Smartphone apps for the treatment of mental disorders: systematic review.  JMIR mHealth and uHealth,  8(4), e14897.