Identifying outcome groups in Quebec's Recovery College learners using cluster analysis

Filippo RAPISARDA^1,2, Galaad LEFAY ^1,2, Catherine BRIAND^1,2, Johana MONTHUY-BLANC ^1,2, Catherine VALLÉE ³

¹Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
²Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
³Université Laval, Québec City, Canada

Introduction

In the face of mental health challenges and the global reduction in funding for mental health services, innovative health promotion strategies are imperative. Since 2020, in response to this situation and during the pandemic, the Health and Recovery Learning Center (Recovery College model, Perkins et Repper, 2017) has been delivering online training courses. A study conducted on a sample of 315 participants showed promising results: 1) significative effects on wellbeing, anxiety, self-esteem/self-efficacy, disclosure/help-seeking; and 2) a slight effect on resilience and optimism/control over the future (Briand et al., submitted). However, given the diverse groups of learners (people with lived experience, family members, healthcare workers, managers, citizens), examining specific outcome trajectories is the next step in better understanding the effects of the Recovery College model. The aim of the present study is to identify different set of outcomes according to learner profiles.

Methods

This pre-experimental study used a one-group pretest-posttest design with repeated measures. Each participant was assessed before attending the course (T0), after completing the course (T1) and three months in follow-up (T2). Data were collected across 10 training sessions delivered between December 2020 and October 2023. Self-administered assessments were used to measure wellbeing, anxiety, empowerment, self-management, stigma and resilience. To identify sets of outcomes, a k-means type clustering algorithm was used. Once the clusters were obtained, descriptive statistics for each outcome set were computed to depict clusters’ meaning.

Results

548 participants were included in the study. The expected results are to identify various set of outcomes and different learner profiles, and thus better understand the effects of Recovery College on diverse groups of learners, with various experiences.

Discussion

The results provide useful information for understanding the RC model, which promotes a mix of learners. Depending on learner’s characteristics, specific outcomes can be expected.