"Recovery 4 US" - A Photovoice-based Social Media Program (R4US)

"Recovery 4 US" - A Photovoice-based Social Media Program to Enhance the Recovery and Community Participation of Individuals With Psychiatric Disabilities

This study is a randomized trial evaluating "Recovery 4 US", a social media program aimed at the enhancement of community participation and overall recovery of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.This innovative e-mental health program integrates Internet and mobile technologies and is designed to be a self-sustaining recovery-oriented virtual community for individuals living with a disabling mental illness based on the principles of Photovoice.

This study is a randomized trial evaluating "Recovery 4 US", a social media program aimed at the enhancement of community participation and overall recovery of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.This innovative e-mental health program integrates Internet and mobile technologies and is designed to be a self-sustaining recovery-oriented virtual community for individuals living with a disabling mental illness based on the principles of Photovoice. The "Recovery 4 US" program which includes a mobile phone application and a password protected website, has three main components: 1) receipt of daily hope-inspiring message, paired with a corresponding visual image; 2) creation and viewing of recovery-oriented Photovoice works; and 3) opportunity to attend community events initiated by members of the "Recovery 4 US" community. The benefits of the "Recovery 4 US" program will be evaluated through a randomized trial with n=60 participants. The study will take place at the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Participants will be randomized to the experimental group (provided with a smartphone and access to "Recovery 4 US" application and website) or the control group (provided with a smartphone but without access to the "Recovery 4 US" app or website). We anticipate participation in the program will be associated with reduced loneliness, increased hopefulness, community participation, and overall recovery. The recruitment goal for this study was amended to n=70.

This group receives a smartphone with the Recovery 4 US application and access to the application website.

R4US is a social media program aimed at the enhancement of community participation and overall recovery of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.

A 20-item 4-point Likert-type scale, widely used measure of loneliness and social isolation with Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from .89 to .94

12 item 4-point Likert type scale measuring the level of generalized hopefulness of the individual; the reported Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal consistency of the scale is .97

10-item 5-point Likert-type scale self-report measure of the level of stress experienced at a given point of time. It was designed to capture how unpredictable, uncontrollable and overloaded respondents find their lives based on their capacity to cope with stress. Reported internal consistency coefficients for the scale ranged between 0.90 and 0.92

24-item 5-point Likert rating scale assessing the level of overall recovery among people with psychiatric disabilities.

measures: mood disturbances, anxiety, interpersonal and role functioning, daily living skills, psychotic symptoms, impulsivity and substance use on a scale from no difficulty to extreme difficulty.

Inclusion Criteria: are 18 or older have been recipients of services at the BU CPR Recovery Center due to having a DSM-V diagnosis of mental illness, including dual diagnosis (dual diagnosis refers to co-occurring mental illness and alcohol/ substance use disorder) as indicated in their records are interested in participating in a social media program are fluent in English have a basic ability to use a mobile phone Exclusion Criteria: Inability to give full and knowing consent