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Certified Peer Specialists’ Perspective of the Barriers and Facilitators to Mobile Health Engagement

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Abstract

This study examined certified peer specialists’ perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to mobile health (mHealth) engagement. A total of 267 certified peer specialists from 38 states completed an online survey. Of this sample, 74 certified peer specialists completed open-ended questions. Data were analyzed from the 74 respondents who responded to open-ended questions. Certified peer specialists identified previously unidentified facilitators including the augmented use of certified peer specialists in combination with mHealth to improve engagement. One emerging theme identified was the belief that mHealth interventions may promote social isolation if not designed appropriately. Certified peer specialists appear to prefer using tablets instead of smartphones. Integrating certified peer specialists’ perspectives of barriers and facilitators to mHealth engagement may promote initial and sustained mHealth engagement among consumers with serious mental illness. Future research using implementation science frameworks should examine these previously identified barriers and facilitators to mHealth engagement as correlates and/or predictors of engagement among service users.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Health Promotion Research Center at Dartmouth, funded by a grant from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Cooperative Agreement U48 DP005018). Additional funding was received from the National Institutes of Mental Health (T32 MH073553-11). Dr. Fortuna was supported by NIMH (K01MH117496).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geisel School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH, USA

    Karen L. Fortuna

  2. VISN 5 MIRECC Baltimore VA Medical Center Annex, 10 N Greene St, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Anjana Muralidharan

  3. The Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center, The Miriam Hospital, 196 Richmond St, Providence, RI, USA

    Carly M. Goldstein

  4. Dartmouth Centers for Health and Aging, 46 Centerra Parkway, Suite 200, Lebanon, NH, 03766, USA

    Maria Venegas

  5. Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, 1730 Minor Ave, Suite 1600, Seattle, WA, 98101-1466, USA

    Joseph E. Glass

  6. Columbia University School of Nursing, 560 W 168th St, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Jessica M. Brooks

Authors
  1. Karen L. Fortuna
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  2. Anjana Muralidharan
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  3. Carly M. Goldstein
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  4. Maria Venegas
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  5. Joseph E. Glass
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  6. Jessica M. Brooks
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Correspondence to Karen L. Fortuna.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Fortuna, K.L., Muralidharan, A., Goldstein, C.M. et al. Certified Peer Specialists’ Perspective of the Barriers and Facilitators to Mobile Health Engagement. J. technol. behav. sci. 5, 318–323 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-020-00138-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-020-00138-7

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