Web technology for persons with serious mental illness

Based on preliminary studies using staff focus groups and consumer interviews, a web-based homepage portal was developed for use by staff and consumers in community mental health clinics. Standard user-testing methods were used to interview and observe participants who were discharge-ready from a state psychiatric facility. As the participants navigated the portal, they “talked aloud” and were presented scenarios to gain their opinions about design and content. The final result was a web portal with communication, education and support features that was ready for further development to deal with issues of privacy, confidentiality, and security, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes.