Smartphone App Enhanced Facilitation Among Veterans in a Mental Health Inpatient Setting (Project HOPE)

The VHB-EF intervention has two phases: (1) The in-person inpatient phase involves a single, one-on-one, 60-minute session delivered by the study interventionist prior to hospital discharge. During this session, the interventionist will obtain access to the participant's personal phone and assist them in downloading the VHB app. The interventionist will provide education about the app and personalized behavioral practice for each component of the app. They will also address strategies to enhance app use. In addition, participants will receive a list of Veteran mental health resources, community services, Veteran service organizations, and other Veteran social support services available to Veterans in the area. (2) The remote-delivery phase builds on the work begun in the hospital via 2 follow-up phone contacts within 14 days following discharge, during which the study interventionist will monitor risk, review/revise VHB content, and support app use and outpatient treatment engagement.

The EUC condition will involve a one-on-one, 30-minute session delivered prior to hospital discharge, during which the study interventionist will review a list of Veteran mental health resources, community services, Veteran service organizations, and other Veteran social support services available to Veterans in the area. The EUC session will remain focused only on reviewing the standardized list of Veteran and community services; no counseling will be provided, and the list provided by the study interventionist does not include non-services (i.e., does not list any smartphone applications, including the VHB app).