The value of AI in mental health services
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluating the efficacy and acceptability of an AI decision support tool for community mental health services in Greater Manchester
IRAS ID
339898
Contact name
Panos Constantinides
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester, Faculty of the Humanities
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Recent research has shown that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies can be used to assist decision making in mental health care that can significantly reduce the burden of staff and improve the management of mental health crises. However, within the English NHS there are currently limited AI technologies available to NHS mental health providers that can help identify and support the care of service users. This research will examine how an AI decision support tool can enable augment the decision-making ability of healthcare staff to improve operational effectiveness and patient outcomes?
The University of Manchester has partnered with the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) and Holmusk UK, a data science company, to examine the value of an AI-enabled decision support tool called MaST within their adult (ages 18-65) Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs). MaST is already being used in 15 CMHTs in Greater Manchester boroughs of Bolton, Salford, Trafford and Manchester.
The research will take place at the 15 CMHT in GMMH over the duration of 2 years (2024-2026). We will carry out interviews with CMHT staff, as well as observations of their use of MaST to evaluate the acceptability of the technology in everyday practices. We will also apply relevant statistics, machine learning and AI algorithms on anonymized MaST data to evaluate the efficacy of AI predictions.
We expect our research to significantly reduce the burden on clinicians and staff. More importantly, identifying people at high risk of mental health crisis earlier and responding quickly will reduce the likelihood of the service users (i.e., patients)’ mental health deteriorating. Our research will provide opportunities to share good practice of MaST use and digital adoption in mental health services, which may be shared with Trusts in the English NHS.REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/NW/0236
Date of REC Opinion
16 Aug 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion