Menzies Stay Strong App

This updated version of the Stay Strong is a motivational care planning tool that assists health professionals to promote the wellbeing of Aboriginal clients by considering their social supports, strengths, worries and the goals or changes they would like to make. It is designed for use by Aboriginal Health Workers, nurses, GPs, allied health professionals and others to facilitate delivery of a structured brief intervention and can be used in clinical and community settings. Developed by Menzies School of Health Research and Queensland University of Technology, it is based on the tools developed by Aboriginal people for Aboriginal people as part of the Aboriginal and Islander Mental Health Initiative (AIMhi). Initially, the client identifies people who help them stay strong, their relationship and the role they play. A diagram of the people identified appears. Next, the client discusses things that keep them strong, using the metaphor of a tree. Spiritual, physical, work, family and emotional strengths are explored. As the client selects a strength there is a concurrent growth in the size of the relevant leaf. Strengths can be personalised by adding text. The client then explores the spiritual, physical, work, family and emotional worries that take their strength away. When each icon is selected there is a concurrent change in the shape and colour of the relevant leaf of the tree and an option to add further detail appears. Using the metaphor of a football field, the client is then asked to identify one or two goals for making change. The changes that would be required, reasons for making the change, steps to achieving the goal, people who can help and timeframes are entered. The App also includes tips for making change to reduce substance abuse and improve wellbeing and wellbeing assessments including the Kessler 5 and 10 and now the PHQ-2. After navigating through all the pages, the client is taken to their Stay Strong Plan where a summary is provided and details of their next appointment can be entered. There is an option of emailing or sharing a text, pictorial or csv summary of the data entered. The App is password protected to ensure client confidentiality. Users will always be asked to re-enter their password upon opening the App and again when accessing existing client data.

*Older versions of the Stay Strong App will not be supported or updated from March 2023. Please update your app to this version.