ICare

The current reserach on Internet-based interventions in the prevention and treatment of mental health conditions has rapidly grown in the past decade. Yet many European countries (e.g., Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Great Britain, Spain) have not implemented these promising approaches into health systems. Individuals with distinct mental health problems interested in using online interventions are often unable to access appropriate and evidence-based online interventions.

The aim of the ICare project is to establish a comprehensive model of health promotion, risk detection, disease prevention, and treatment facilitation for the most prevalent mental health problems and disorders (depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, eating disorders/weight management and substance abuse), that assists individuals and mental health professionals in selecting and using evidence-based, online interventions. To reach this aim, the involved project partners bring together over 30 evidence-based, online interventions spanning the mental health intervention-spectrum from universal to targeted prevention, self-help and to the treatment for the respective conditions in children, adolescents and adults. Following a stakeholder needs survey, the model will be integrated into existing health care and other settings in Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Austria, and Spain by:

1. developing valid and economic, online screenings to allocate individuals to interventions,
2. developing technology for a common e-health intervention platform,
3. developing implementation plans,
4. implementing evidence-based interventions into health care, and
5. evaluating and comparing their feasibility, acceptability, reach, efficacy and (cost)-effectiveness, adoption, and dissemination including moderators of interventions.

The ICare project also aims at the sustained implementation of its interventions into health services and collaborations with health care providers across different EU countries.

The Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction is mainly involved in the work packages 4 (resilience promotion in university students in the first Semester) and 5 (indicated prevention of depression and anxiety disorders).