Grant: Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic, severe mood disorder. Worldwide, it affects 2.4% of people, and has been ranked as the fifth a leading cause of disease burden among mental disorders. BD is linked to significant negative impacts on relationships, physical health, cognition, educational achievement and workforce participation. It is therefore increasingly recognised that recovery in mood disorders involves not only reducing symptoms, but also improvements in a person's quality of life (QoL). While it had been previously assumed that these two goals would be synonymous, there is growing evidence to suggest that the trajectories of mood and QoL improvements are not always parallel. Interventions known to improve mood may not improve QoL to the same degree, and changes to QoL may be delayed relative to changes to mood symptoms. Not only this, but QoL may be have unique mechanisms for improvement that are not fully addressed in treatments targeting mood symptoms, and people with BD report receiving limited support for their QoL goals in the context of usual healthcare. This suggests a significant unmet needs for QoL-focused treatments in BD. The overarching aim of this postdoctoral research program will be to address critical gaps in the science of QoL in people with BD. Firstly, novel machine learning methods will be used to develop a sophisticated understanding of factors which predict QoL in BD, in order to improve the design and ability to individualise future interventions. Secondly, the potential of a mobile phone app intervention for QoL in BD will be explored. A mixed-methods approach will explore the feasibility, engagement, and impacts of this app. Together, this program of research will create a foundation for next-generation interventions optimising health and wellbeing in one of the most serious mood disorders affecting Canadians.