New Projects

Project summary: The eCliPSE online portal is a website that aims to facilitate access to evidence based online screening and eHealth treatments by people experiencing comorbid mental health and substance use problems, and the clinical services supporting them. The eCliPSE portal has been developed and is currently available for use by people in the Murrumbidgee and South Western Sydney Local Health Districts. This project will evaluate the utility and effectiveness of the eCliPSE portal.

Rationale: Currently, treatment access for mental health and alcohol/other drug use problems is unacceptably low in the general population (approximately 30% of those in need), and when accessed, evidence-based treatment is only provided in approximately 10% of cases.  Online treatment programs stand to overcome structural, geographical, and some attitudinal barriers to treatment access, but potential end users cite difficulties in navigating through the myriad of online sites and programs available in the mental health space. The eCliPSE portal aims to solve this issue by providing tailored information to end users regarding mental health, alcohol/other drug, and related issues relevant to their setting, providing access to evidence-based online treatment programs targeted at these issues that have established validity, reliability, credibility, and trustworthiness, and by linking information provision with treatment access through a series of self-reported screening assessments, designed to direct end users to the right program for their concerns. Central to the success of the portal is engagement with service providers in mental health and drug/alcohol sectors to create a clinical pathway to care that supports end users to use the eCliPSE resources. Clinician-specific resources are built into the portal to support mental health and drug/alcohol clinicians to better address comorbidity in clients of their service.

Aims: This project will evaluate the utility and effectiveness of the eCliPSE portal for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.

Progress update: eCliPSE has been built and initial training with mental health and drug health service providers is underway. Recruitment of participants to the study is expected to begin in late 2017.

For full details please visit the NDARC website.