Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SMILE (Supporting Mental Health in Young People: Integrated Methodology for cLinical dEcisions and evidence-based interventions)
Reporting period: 2023-05-01 to 2024-10-31
The SMILE project, funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe Programme, seeks to address the challenges of diagnosing and treating anxiety disorders while enhancing mental health management among young people. Through the development of digital tools like an Open Knowledge Platform (OKP) and gamified tools, SMILE informs decision strategies for healthcare professionals, democratizes access to meaningful knowledge, and provides self-assessment, learning, and self-care services to help young people build resilience and coping skills. By integrating at least seven diagnostic data sources, its predictive analytics and decision-making tools assist clinicians in identifying risk factors. The project will be validated through real-life case studies in seven European countries (UK, Germany, Cyprus, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Italy) to validate the platform's functionalities, gathering feedback from adolescents, parents, researchers, clinical psychologists, and other stakeholders. With a focus on accessibility, personalization, collaboration, and sustainability, SMILE aims to deliver socio-economic, legal, gender-sensitive, and environmental benefits while enhancing the quality of mental health care for patients, practitioners, SMEs, and society at large.
The SMILE project has made significant progress in several areas. The project focuses on creating an immersive virtual environment to enhance learning and resilience-building. The development of gamification apps is a notable achievement, designed to facilitate self-assessment and cognitive restructuring among adolescents. These apps are part of a broader strategy to use gamified digital interventions for mental health improvement. Moreover, the project has developed a comprehensive framework for collecting digital biomarkers to support personalized mental health improvements. The OKB (Open Knowledge Base) and SMILE API are central to this effort, facilitating data exchange and integration with existing systems through a FHIR database. The project also emphasizes security and privacy through SAPL integration and Keycloak server deployment, ensuring robust data protection measures. Additionally, the integration of advanced tools like the SMILE API and FHIR database supports seamless data operations and interoperability. Additionally, the Living Labs framework has been established to foster collaboration among stakeholders, including adolescents, parents, healthcare professionals, and researchers. These labs aim to test and refine the tools in real-world scenarios, with a focus on usability, accessibility, and evidence-based outcomes. Ethical approvals for pilot studies are being finalized across participating sites to ensure compliance with legal and ethical standards. Once initiated, these pilots will provide critical insights into the effectiveness of the SMILE tools in diverse European contexts.
The SMILE project has made strides in developing a collaborative multiplayer gamification system aimed at facilitating self-assessment and accelerating self-learning among adolescents. This system employs cognitive restructuring techniques to challenge negative assumptions and biased thinking, with five game scenarios currently under development. The gamified interventions are complemented by a companion app that supports cognitive restructuring, thereby enhancing the overall effectiveness of these digital tools. Additionally, the project has established Living Labs across various European countries to validate its platform's functionalities through real-life case studies. These efforts are supported by a robust stakeholder engagement strategy that ensures diverse input from adolescents, parents, healthcare professionals, and other key stakeholders. By integrating advanced technologies with educational programs and ethical research practices, SMILE is poised to deliver socio-economic benefits while significantly enhancing mental health care quality
This platform integrates multiple diagnostic data sources to enhance predictive analytics and decision-making tools for clinicians, thereby improving the identification of risk factors associated with anxiety disorders. The project's progress is marked by the completion of critical tasks such as the design and architecture of the platform, refinement of prototypes for a Serious Game and Awareness App, and deployment of essential features like the FHIR Database and SMILE API on production servers. These tools are designed to democratize access to knowledge and provide self-assessment, learning, and self-care services, ultimately empowering young people to build resilience and coping skills.
This platform integrates multiple diagnostic data sources to enhance predictive analytics and decision-making tools for clinicians, thereby improving the identification of risk factors associated with anxiety disorders. The project's progress is marked by the completion of critical tasks such as the design and architecture of the platform, refinement of prototypes for a Serious Game and Awareness App, and deployment of essential features like the FHIR Database and SMILE API on production servers. These tools are designed to democratize access to knowledge and provide self-assessment, learning, and self-care services, ultimately empowering young people to build resilience and coping skills.