Dissemination and cultural adaptation of mental health self-management technology in the Russian Federation

Dissemination and cultural adaptation of mental health self-management technology in the Russian Federation (DIMENSION-RF) is part of the Swedish Institute's approved projects in the form of support Third Country Cooperation in the Baltic Sea area, for the year 2019.

Hands holding a mobile phone.
Foto: iStock

Background

Over the past decade, Russia has developed several state-level initiatives aimed at promoting mental health and general health, including the goal of increasing life expectancy to 80 years in the coming decades.

A growing proportion of the elderly is desirable from a social perspective, but at the same time it is a challenge for the state and its institutions, the economy, health care, social insurance and pension funds. One of the biggest challenges is preserving the mental health of the population and the active involvement of the elderly in terms of their finances, healthy lifestyles, cognitive abilities, self-management and involvement in beneficial social activities such as socialization, volunteering, etc.

One of the strategies that has been introduced nationally is the integration of international health promotion methods with an orientation towards digitalized and individualized medical technology and care. This makes Russia an interesting market for the dissemination of new digital technology linked to mental health and well-being.

These arguments were the basis for the application to be included in the Swedish Institute's Third Country Cooperation in the Baltic Sea area.

Design

The aim of the project is to increase the dissemination of the results of the ongoing, innovative EU project NEVERMIND and to implement a cultural adaptation of the project.

NEVERMIND

NEurobehavioural predictiVE and peRsonalised Modelling of depressive symptoms duriNg primary somatic Diseases with ICT-enabled self-management procedures (NEVERMIND) is a project that received funding from the EU framework program Horizon 2020 for research and innovation.

The purpose of the NEVERMIND project is to use technology to provide tools to people suffering from depressive symptoms associated with serious somatic diseases, such as cancer. The goal is to put the patient's mental health at the center by using a mobile application and a sensitized, lightweight sweater that collects data on the patient's mental and physical health and provides patients with effective feedback.

Based on the data collected, suggestions are given to the patient that encourages changing habits or lifestyle to reduce the incidence and severity of depressive symptoms.

One of the NEVERMIND project's strategic goals is to disseminate information about this technology that would help increase its use by the public. The ultimate goal of this project is to bring the technology to the market, which would give people tools to take control of their mental state, in this case depressive symptoms, and thereby improve their quality of life.

DW
Content reviewer:
31-08-2023