Psychosis Aware: Anonymous online screening as a form of early intervetion
Poster C32, Wednesday, October%2010, 11:30%20am%20-%201:00%20pm, Essex%20Ballroom
lisa desai1; 1Screening for Mental Health
Background: The onset of psychosis commonly occurs between ages 16 and 25. This is also the age when young adults typically seek increased independence from parents or other caretakers. The changing family dynamic can make it difficult to identify psychosis during the early phases of onset. Yet, research indicates that early detection and treatment can dramatically change outcomes and prognoses, and that the longer the syndrome goes undetected the more severe the disruption to education, work functioning and social connections. Psychosis Aware is an online screening platform that facilitates early identification and intervention through anonymous online screening. Psychosis Aware adapts the Prodromal Questionnaire 16 (PQ-16) into a brief, user-friendly screen that can be taken by individuals concerned about themselves or a loved one. This tool was created by the nonprofit Screening for Mental Health (SMH) and launched to the public in November 2017. It has the unique value proposition of helping a person to anonymously identify the need for further clinical evaluation, connecting them to local clinical services, and providing educational materials to support their understanding of the syndrome. Discussion: We will describe preliminary data of tool usage, including utilization, demographic and clinical trends and implications for help-seeking behavior. We will explore whether this online screening tool reaches populations who might otherwise be missed due to geographic location, lack of access to traditional healthcare options, and diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. The advances, and ongoing challenges, in collecting online utilization data will also be discussed.
Topic Area: Psychosocial Interventions