About one in every five young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 has a mental illness, according to postdoctoral scholar and University instructor, Melissa Pinto-Folz. Seventy percent of them do not receive treatment, Pinto-Folz said. And out of those that do receive treatment, many drop out early because of difficulties managing their illness, she added.
Pinto-Folz and other developers at Case Western Reserve University have created a computer program called Electronic Self-Management Resource Training to Reduce Health Disparities (E-SMART-HD or E-Smart), aimed towards bettering patient-healthcare provider communications. The goal of the program is to improve how those with mental illnesses manage their health – with a particular emphasis on young adults.
“Young adults accept technology as part of their lives and are comfortable interacting with it,” Pinto-Folz said. “This project seemed like a natural extension of what they are already doing every day.”
The E-Smart program will allow patients to interact with avatars of virtual health care providers in a virtual environment. The program will guide patients through these interactions and help them when they encounter problems.
The next step in the process will be to test the E-Smart program on participants with depression or anxiety. The participants will then assess the effectiveness of the program and it will be tweaked accordingly.
“Young adults do not have to struggle with mental illness,” Pinto-Folz said. “We want to see young adults get the help they need to feel better."
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