Helse Bergen and Youwell have been awarded the status of SFI - Mobile mental healthcare

Helse Bergen and Youwell have been awarded the status of SFI - Mobile mental healthcare

The Research Council is investing around NOK 2 billion in new centers for research-driven innovation (SFI). The new centers will receive funding for up to eight years and will start up in the autumn.

The aim of the center scheme for research-driven innovation (SFI) is more innovation and value creation in the business world. In the centres, prominent research environments collaborate with research-active companies to develop expertise and technology that can renew and further develop the business world.

70 applicant consortia submitted applications to the Research Council for SFI funds last autumn. Now 22 will have their applications approved after a meeting of the Research Council's board on Thursday 11 June.

Youwell has already been an industrial partner to INTROMAT, which is an ICT lighthouse project under the management of Health Bergen, and now we are also joining as an industrial partner the new centre, which will be called:

Center for research-based innovation on Mobile Mental Health

Here, Youwell becomes the partners with the University of Bergen, BI Business School, St. Olav's hospital and the National Center for e-Health Research as well as 3 international universities (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam; University of Southern Denmark; Macquarie University, Sidney).

The centre's main aim is to expand the use and effect of digital interventions within mental health through research on effectiveness compared to standard treatment, health economic and social economic effects, strategies for implementation and early "Health Technology Assessment". The center will take existing digital interventions as a starting point and will research and develop methods and models for health and socio-economic analyses, service design and implementation, and method evaluation.

Although the effect of digital interventions for the patient is well documented, their use is still limited. There is a need for new knowledge about health economic effects, strategies for implementation and method assessment so that use can be increased.

Youwell will carry out a collaboration with Bergen Municipality where we will look at the effects of a digital intervention aimed at young people who have restlessness and anxiety. The plan is for 300 young people to be included in the project. We hope that this study will be able to accelerate the adoption of this type of treatment in Norway and Northern Europe in the first instance.