Support factors and barriers in the implementation of an app for refugees in an inpatient psychiatric setting: a...

Refugees are a particularly vulnerable target group in healthcare. Innovative digital treatment options offer the opportunity to reduce or even close gaps in care for this particular group. Despite promising evidence, only a few digital interventions have been used in inpatient psychiatric care in Germany to date. The I-REACH project investigated the implementation of "blended care" (the use of a digital support in addition to face-to-face (F2F) routine care services) in inpatient psychiatric care for refugees. The aim was to describe the factors promoting and hindering implementation from the perspective of professionals in order to support implementation efforts.

As part of the I-REACH project, a qualitative survey was conducted to explore support factors and barriers to the implementation of a blended care application ("blended Almamar-App" in combination with face-to-face diagnostics and therapy). Between August and November 2024, 15 guided interviews were conducted with eight healthcare professionals and seven local study coordinators from the participating study centres. The interviews were coded and evaluated using a qualitative content analysis according to Kuckartz.

Key promoting factors and barriers were identified deductively and inductively in accordance with the interview guide from the perspective of professionals involved in the project. Technical, patient-related, practitioner-related, organizational, and structural factors were described.

In order to integrate digital interventions such as the "blended Almamar-App" into routine care, technical requirements such as existing devices and reliable network connectivity, continuous information and training for users, and structured organization are particularly important. It is advisable to integrate data into existing digital hospital information systems wherever possible and to provide resource-oriented support to practitioners in implementing digital treatment options.