A world-first mental health check-in that combines wearable technology with an online survey was launched in Perth today.
A world-first mental health check-in that combines wearable technology with an online survey was launched in Perth today.
The program emerged from a joint initiative between Perth business Vital Conversations and Australian health technology company Medibio, the result of more than two years of trials and over a decade’s worth of health assessments.
The project, Australia’s Biggest Mental Health Check-in, is open nationwide to people who can check-in from October 10. Participants will be asked to complete a 15-minute online profile and wear an overnight heart rate tracking device for one night.
Results are then downloaded onto the Medibio ZBLE app (from the Apple store) on the user’s phone.
The ‘check-in’ closes November 10, when an individualised profile report will be emailed to each participant.
Based in Western Australia, Vital Conversations provides psychological health, training, coaching, and employee assistance programs on organisational and individual levels.
Managing director Peta Slocombe, who has 20 years’ experience as a practising psychologist, created the check-in project.
“We have combined wearable technology, in partnership with Medibio, with a state-of-the-art online profile telling you everything you need to understand about how your head and heart are tracking,” Ms Slocombe said.
“Importantly it’s personal, private, and easy to complete.”
The wearable device straps around the chest and tracks the circadian heart rhythm (CHR) during sleep. 
The check-in will use CHR in combination with the online survey to assess factors including: stress; depression; anxiety; coping styles (ability to manage difficult thoughts); sleep quality; resilience; self-awareness; and perfectionism – behaviours that may change when mental health issues are being experienced.
Mental health is the highest cause of disability in Australia, according to the World Health Organisation, and is the third highest health factor in terms of premature death behind cancer and heart disease.
A 2015 mental health first aid Australia manual revealed only 39 per cent of people who suffer from a mental health issue actually receive support.
“Not only can we use world-first technology to do this, but at the same time we can send a message to millions of people that paying attention to mental health is important for all of us,” Ms Slocombe said.
The check-in has already attracted support from prominent WA business leaders, who gathered at Parmelia House on St Georges Terrace this morning for the launch.
St Vincent De Paul Society WA chief executive Mark Fitzpatrick, Azure Capital managing partner Adrian Arundell, Hawaiian chief executive Russell Gibbs, WA Country Health Services chairman Neale Fong, and Business Women Australia board member Maree Gooch and are among several of the WA check-in ambassadors.
People can register online at www.mentalhealthcheckin.com, where an entry fee of $40 will cover the cost of the device and a professional to view the individual’s report.
HBF has joined as a partner (announced October 11) and will work closely with medibio by encouraging its corporate clients to participate in the initiative.
