(PS8-D90) Stop Soldier Suicide and Neuroflow: Partnering to Facilitate Support for Veterans Through an Mhealth Technology Platform

Veterans are at 50% higher risk of suicide as compared to those who have not served. This vulnerable population warrants clinical efforts to improve coping and decrease symptom severity from serious mental illnesses (SMIs). The capacity for self-management of mental health symptoms and acquired skills-based tools are critical determinants of recovery and self-harm prevention, but veterans with SMIs face barriers accessing evidence-based interventions that could empower them to manage their symptoms. Mobile health (mHealth) is especially well-suited to reduce barriers to access at scale in community mental health and primary care settings. Stop Soldier Suicide partnered with NeuroFlow, a mHealth technology platform, to promote user engagement through psychoeducation and targeted activities designed to inform provider care and reduce acute episodes of high symptom severity. The current study analyzed engagement trends and predictors of improvement of PHQ9 scores from an mHealth intervention for Veterans. Of 191 individuals who received an invitation to register for NeuroFlow, 135 (70.7%) proceeded to register, thereby establishing membership status. Enrolled participants were 60.8% male, between the ages of 20 and 70-years-old (M = 35.8). Invitations to register were primarily sent through email (91.9%) and text message (94.8%), with subsequent registration occurring via text (36.3%), email (28.1%), direct referral (19.3%), or unknown methods (16.3%). Frequency distribution for the number of days between receiving an invitation and registering were as follows: 98 [0-3 days]; 12 [3-6 days], 8 [6-9 days], 3 [9-12 days], 8 [12-15 days], 6 [>15 days]. Assigned homework activities were recommended in the following order: subjective metric homework (e.g., report on sleep, pain, mood, anticipatory stress; 47.4%), pain tracker homework (24.4%), breathing homework (guided breathing;10.5%), rating scale completion (e.g., PHQ9, GAD7, PCPTSD5; 5%), guided homework (e.g., video session; 4.6%), journal homework (4.1%), subjective metric session (3.9%), and other homework (e.g., coping skills, protective factors; .1%). Analyses revealed a general decrease in PHQ9 symptoms among Stop Soldier Suicide registered users (t = 2.44, p = .01). Presenters will discuss a breakdown of activities and their relationships with PHQ9 outcomes. Overall, the integration of behavioral and mental health, delivered and monitored through mHealth intervention platforms has important implications for effective and accessible cognitive-behavioral strategies to best meet the needs of veterans during times of crisis.