COBALT: Supporting the mental well-being of the health care workforce with technology-facilitated care during Covid-19 and beyond

Two-thirds of health professionals facing the clinical demands of responding to the Covid-19 pandemic experience psychiatric symptoms, including post-traumatic stress, anxiety, substance use, depression, insomnia, and suicide.1,2 Compounding matters, access to mental health services is poor, quality...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Healthcare : the journal of delivery science and innovation 2022-09, Vol.10 (3), p.100640-100640, Article 100640
Main Authors: Livesey, Cecilia, Kugler, Kelley, Huang, Jack J., Burton, Eleanor, Rangnekar, Avanti, Vojta, Grace, Oquendo, Maria A., Bellini, Lisa, Asch, David A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
COVID 19
Healthcare workers
Mental health
Technical platforms
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Summary:Two-thirds of health professionals facing the clinical demands of responding to the Covid-19 pandemic experience psychiatric symptoms, including post-traumatic stress, anxiety, substance use, depression, insomnia, and suicide.1,2 Compounding matters, access to mental health services is poor, quality is variable, and stigma is prevalent. COBALT, a digital mental health and wellness platform developed at Penn Medicine, was designed to support health care workers, offering a combination of self-directed resources, virtual group sessions, and individual appointments with a stepped care model of providers, including peers, resilience coaches, psychotherapists, and psychiatrists. In COBALT's first 11 months, the platform saw approximately 10,000 users, 200,000 page views, 1,400 one-on-one appointment bookings, over 1,000 group appointment reservations, and 158 interceptions of employees contemplating self-harm. COBALT reveals the unmet demand for mental health support among health professionals and provides a model for both expanding the supply of and streamlining access to services.
ISSN:2213-0764
2213-0772
DOI:10.1016/j.hjdsi.2022.100640