Project to develop, test, and evaluate an app-based psychosocial prevention service
Background: In recent years, the number of cases of incapacity to work due to mental disorders has increased. This is accompanied by rising costs for health and pension insurers. The PE³PP project aims to develop a psychosocial prevention measure that comprises an initial stationary phase and a subsequent app-supported training phase - with the objective of strengthening and promoting the participation of insured persons in the world of work. PE³PP is funded by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs as part of the rehapro model project and is being implemented in cooperation with the German Pension Insurance (DRV), two clinics and the AOK, with scientific support from the Technical University of Munich. The project is structured in a development, testing and evaluation phase, with research objectives for each phase. The aim of the development phase is to gain insights into various dimensions of the development process and to examine the design and content of the conceptualized prevention measure in relation to the stationary and app-supported phase. The trial phase will examine the implementation of the prevention measure in accordance with the needs and expectations of the participants in order to optimize the prevention measure. Subsequently, the evaluation phase will analyze the effectiveness and success of the prevention measure.
Methods: The overall evaluation of the PE3PP project is based on a mixed-methods approach. The qualitative interviews will be conducted in a longitudinal design with experts from the DRV, the participating clinics and the AOK. During the development phase, the app pretest will include a focus group with potential recipients of preventive services. In the trial phase, the focus groups will be conducted with the first cohorts, and in the evaluation phase, focus groups will be conducted in a semi-annual interval. The qualitative analysis of the expert interviews and focus groups is based on qualitative content analysis, according to Mayring. Over the entire project period, the quantitative survey will include up to 1080 participants. The collected data will be analyzed using a statistical analysis method.
Results: The results of the development phase provide conditions and determinants for the successful development of an innovative psychosocial prevention measure and elicit conditions that determine the success of adoption by the target group. Findings from the trial phase provide information about the implementation of the prevention measure and describe opportunities and challenges to optimize the intervention. The results of the evaluation phase show, besides the possible effectiveness, dimensions of success and challenges regarding whether the implementation of the prevention measure is successful and which conditions exist for a potential continuation of the prevention measure. Overall, the project results provide an insight into the topic of developing an innovative app-based prevention measure. Additionally, they indicate opportunities, barriers, and challenges in the partial digitization of health prevention.
Innovation: This project is designed to create a better alignment between the needs of insured individuals and existing services by collaboratively designing and implementing an innovative psychosocial prevention measure. The prevention measure is designed to promote health in an occupational context and maintain employability. In order to develop the prevention measure goal-oriented and to increase its utilization, the project pursues the following innovations: First, an innovative prevention measure will be designed, tested, and evaluated - focusing on psychosocial aspects of occupation and employment-related participation difficulties; second, the intervention will include a 2-week stationary initial phase, followed by a digital, app-based training phase of three months. A significant focus of this approach is an intensified therapeutic support during the stationary as well as the app-supported training phase; thirdly, specific groups of policyholders are to be won over for the new prevention measure via proactive access channels.