Socio-demographics characteristics.

People with psychosis often experience social isolation due to stigma. Several volunteering programmes that exist in the community to support patients expect in-person meetings, requiring greater availability and commitment. This study investigated the acceptability and feasibility of remote volunteering over a smartphone for people with psychosis over 12 weeks, exploring its potential impact on both patients and volunteers. A total of 36 participants took part in the study. In the first phase, six participants were recruited in less than three weeks in London. All established contact with their match, and there were no study withdrawals. In the second phase, 30 additional participants were recruited in four weeks, across the United Kingdom. Most patients and volunteers reported that they primarily used audio calls to make contact, followed by text messages, WhatsApp messages and video calls. There were improvements in patients’ scores of quality of life, self-esteem, social contacts and symptoms, and in volunteers’ ratings of quality of life, physical activity, self-esteem, social comparison, and social distance towards people with mental illness. This study demonstrates that it is feasible, acceptable and safe to remotely connect volunteers and people with psychosis who are afar.
Trial registration: ISRCTN17586238 (registration date: 28/09/2018).

精神病性障碍患者常因病耻感而面临社会隔离。当前社区中诸多支持此类患者的志愿服务项目均要求线下会面，对参与者的时间可用性与投入度提出了更高要求。本研究针对一项为期12周的智能手机端远程志愿服务方案，探究其针对精神病性障碍患者的可接受性与可行性，并分析其对患者及志愿者双方的潜在影响。本研究共纳入36名受试者。第一阶段，伦敦地区在三周内招募6名受试者，所有受试者均与配对对象建立了联络，无研究脱落案例。第二阶段，英国全境范围内于四周内额外招募30名受试者。绝大多数患者与志愿者主要通过音频通话开展联络，其次依次为短信、WhatsApp消息及视频通话。患者在生活质量、自尊水平、社会接触及症状评分方面均得到改善；志愿者则在生活质量、体力活动、自尊水平、社会比较以及对精神疾病患者的社会距离感等维度的评分上获得提升。本研究证实，为相距较远的志愿者与精神病性障碍患者搭建远程联结的方案具备可行性、可接受性与安全性。试验注册编号：ISRCTN17586238（注册日期：2018年9月28日）。