DIRECT - Professional psychological support on the road
Together with the Freie Universität Berlin, the Swiss Red Cross and other partners, we have developed a platform for e-mental health projects that has been successfully used in studies and practical projects.
The assignment
The FU Berlin needed software to conduct an EU-funded study in the field of psychological support for refugees. It quickly became apparent that the infrastructure created could also be used for other use cases.
With the participation of other partners, the research platform DIRECT was created, which is used to conduct internet and smartphone-based clinical psychological studies.
Platform features
Knowledge content
Depending on the use case, knowledge content, narratives and stories can be integrated. The content is presented in individual modules either as a chatbot or as a horizontal slide view.
Interactive exercises
DIRECT already offers numerous interactive exercises that can be integrated into all projects on the platform. These include complex models of psychotherapy such as the Cognitive Triangle Exercise. New exercises can be easily created with the exercise construction kit.
Questionnaires
DIRECT offers the possibility to accompany projects within the framework of a study, for example to examine the effectiveness of a project. Randomisable study groups can be created for this purpose. Users can receive questionnaires to collect data.
Modularisation
DIRECT is designed as a platform so that features can be easily switched on and off. In addition, the platform is expandable for different usage scenarios.
Security and data protection
The sensitive user data is hosted and processed on German servers according to the highest data protection and security criteria.
Study configuration
Study leaders can manage projects and studies, contact participants as well as create and configure new studies via an admin view.
Our solution
What began as a support service for Arabic-speaking refugees is now used in a wide variety of psychological intervention contexts. With DIRECT projects, those affected receive low-threshold psychological support and help for self-help - all supervised and guided by professional therapists.
The DIRECT system was built and developed by us from the ground up. It consists of a mobile app for iOS and Android as well as a web app for those affected, a content management system for content editors and an administration interface for those responsible for studies and therapists. The idea behind it: To provide an infrastructure that can be used by many different organisations to conduct studies and interventions.
The Swiss Red Cross, for example, uses the platform to offer SUI to people who have had to leave their country of origin and now live in Switzerland. It offers simply prepared and illustrated information on various everyday topics, step-by-step instructions, exercises and local offers to cope with life in Switzerland and related challenges. The FU Berlin uses DIRECT to investigate the effectiveness of smartphone-based interventions in several studies, providing effective help directly to the study participants.
Next steps
The DIRECT platform is constantly being expanded. The roadmap includes exciting topics such as the use of machine learning, interoperability with other health systems and the publication of the software or parts of it as an open source project.
But already now, new practice partners are regularly starting on the platform, using DIRECT to implement their scientific studies in the field of E-Mental Health.
We look forward to your project!
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