New European initiative to prevent psychosis with digital tools
Simon Cervenka, Professor at the Department of Medical Sciences, is leading a project to prevent psychosis. Photo: Kristoffer Pettersson.
In early April, a research project on the prevention of psychosis, led by Simon Cervenka at the Department of Medical Sciences, is being launched.
In the project, an international consortium will evaluate and implement digital tools to identify people in the early stages of psychosis, and improve and individualise their treatment. The project is funded by a major research grant from the European Partnership Transforming Health and Care Systems.
Psychotic disorders, of which schizophrenia is the most common, affect both patients and their families as well as the society at large. In addition, other life-shortening diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, are common in psychosis patients. If patients at risk can be detected and treated at an early stage, the development of the disorder can be mitigated and recovery facilitated.
“Our newly funded project is called ePreventPsych: Digital Strategies for Prevention of Psychosis and Its Consequences. In this European collaboration we will use innovative digital screening tools to identify individuals with an increased risk of psychosis and diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” says Simon Cervenka.
The project includes developing web-based strategies to identify at-risk individuals and, together with patients and healthcare professionals, adapt them to different European settings. The researchers will also evaluate algorithms that analyse healthcare data to detect at-risk individuals, as well as tools for assessing metabolic risk in patients with first-episode psychosis. The methods will be validated and implemented in five European countries, including Sweden.
An important aspect is to ensure that the screening tools can be sustainably integrated into health care systems in the long term. To this end, the researchers will also address legal, technical and ethical challenges.
“ePreventPsych has the potential to fundamentally change the care and support for young people at risk of psychosis. Working with some of the world’s leading experts on this important issue is a fantastic opportunity,” says Simon Cervenka.
Find out more
The European partnership Transforming Health and Care Systems (THCS) is part of the EU framework programme, Horizon Europe. For THCS, Vinnova co-funds the Swedish participation. Other partnership programmes in the health area include the European Partnership on Rare Diseases and the European Partnership for Personalised Medicine.