The platform allows patients to access treatment and support through virtual weekly check-in phone calls with their care coordinator. The care coordinator assesses their progress, provides motivation and resources and shares recommendations from the virtual care team.
“The virtual care team fills in the gaps that the person may be experiencing in their community because he or she doesn’t have all those services readily available to them,” says Dr. Peter Selby, the Director of Medical Education, CAMH and one of the co-principal investigators on the project.
“No single hospital has all the resources patients need so there’s a gap in getting them all these comprehensive services because they’re scattered across the province. By making the project internet based it helps break down some geographical barriers.”
Over a 12-week period, patients in the program will learn how to improve their lifestyle by increasing their physical activity, improving their nutrition and quitting or reducing smoking. If these factors aren’t managed early, these behaviours can lead to a tobacco use disorder as well as obesity.
The project is funded by the MPA through a collaboration with all three hospitals. It currently has 14 participants and aims to have helped 60 by the end of its two-year term, says Rosa Dragonetti, the director of Addictions Resource Education at CAMH and the TECC-Y project’s director.
“It’s a hard population to engage, but it’s a very important one,” adds Rosa.
“It’s an important population to reach early because we can help support them to quit smoking as young adults and we can at least reduce their risk of all the cardio metabolic risk factors that they’re subject to because of their mental illness.”
So far, they’ve recruited patients from CAMH’s Slaight Centre Early Intervention Service, with hopes to get more recruits through Trillium Health Partners and SickKids in the future as well, adds Rosa.
Using the internet as its base for communication between patients and the care team was a strategic decision. It’s the most promising way to reach youth and has proven to be quite effective in CAMH’s cessation studies, overseen by Peter.
“We’ve been doing a lot of web-based interventions because what we’ve noticed is we’ve had a lot of success in reaching larger numbers and populations that don’t have access to in-person care,” says Rosa.
“We wanted a virtual platform for patients, so it’s one less appointment they have to attend in person and they won’t have to travel to Toronto to receive the care.”
So far, Rosa says, the anecdotal feedback they’ve received from patients participating is positive.
Once the program has reached the end of its term, Peter says, we’ll evaluate whether or not the project is feasible and that will determine what happens next.
“We’ll also look at why this project worked for some, why it didn’t work for others and how it needs to be improved,” Peter explains.
“We’re monitoring this closely as we go because it’s innovative and new; no one has ever done this before.”
TECC-Y is actively recruiting participants for the study and will continue recruiting until October 2019.
