Care expert create app for people with mental ill health

A new app specifically designed for people receiving support for mental ill-health provides users with greater control over the management of their wellbeing and a faster path towards recovery and independence.

The Inside Track is a service user mood tracking app primarily aimed at those using Supporting People (SP) mental health services.

The app links to Praxis Care’s Outcomes Management System to bring improved responsiveness from services to service users by providing a conversation starter and allowing services to shape support around the individual.

Praxis Care’s Director of Care and Development for Northern Ireland, Greer Wilson, explains, “All of Praxis Care’s interventions are designed to help service users in their recovery process.

Inside Track provides service users with an IT platform to track their mood, helping them to recognise patterns. We can then use this information to shape support delivery to meet their needs in a meaningful way”.

This project was funded through the NI Housing Executive’s Supporting People Provider Innovation Fund 2020/21 and developed through ECOM Software.

Praxis Care head of supporting people and outcomes management systems, Jenny Cassells, says the app will make a significant contribution towards providing users with an independent voice and giving them greater control over their path to independence through directly managing their own outcomes.

‘The app has been co-produced with service users to be user-friendly with a simple and visually appealing interface that is an engaging way to support their mental wellbeing.

‘Service users complete a mood tracking question with five emoji type responses on a daily basis. A chart displays the service user responses so that they can monitor their own wellbeing.

‘Mini-assessments, that can be adjusted over time, are also available.  The first mini-assessment includes three Covid-related questions.’

Alistair Mawhinney assistant director housing executive, Supporting People said: ‘The Housing Executive is delighted to have funded this project through our Supporting People Provider Innovation Fund which aims to support improvements to the delivery of the Supporting People Programme.

‘Service users supported through the programme are at the centre of what we do and it’s great to see how projects like this will positively impact day to day lives.’

Benefits include more enriched outcomes data—this dovetails with other outcomes information to provide a more detailed picture from service users’ perspectives.

It allows services to respond faster and more directly to service users’ needs and encourages the supported individual, who will clearly see the progress they have made towards independence.

Photo Credit – Praxis Care