Optimizing and operationalizing engagement with a CBM-I smartphone app: A case series (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Engagement with mental health smartphone apps is an understudied, yet critical, construct to understand in the pursuit of more efficacious mental health apps. OBJECTIVE In this manuscript we examine engagement as a multidimensional construct, as well as strategies to enhance engagement for a novel app HabitWorks. HabitWorks delivers a personalized cognitive bias modification for interpretation bias intervention and was originally tested in people traversing the challenging transition from acute psychiatric care to daily life. METHODS Using a case series we evaluate three domains of engagement- behavioral, cognitive, and affective- for three HabitWorks participants. RESULTS This manuscript highlights various strategies to enhance engagement such as human support, personalization, self-monitoring, and privacy and security measures. Our cases illustrate the heterogeneity of engagement patterns and clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS With rich participant-level data we emphasize the necessity of studying engagement as a multifaceted construct, and the complexity of the relationship between overall engagement and psychosocial outcomes. Our thorough idiographic exploration of engagement with HabitWorks provides an example of how to optimize and operationalize engagement for other mHealth apps.

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Multipurpose Mobile Apps for Mental Health in Chinese App Stores: Content Analysis and Quality Evaluation (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.34054 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoqian Wu ◽

Lin Xu ◽

PengFei Li ◽

TingTing Tang ◽

Cheng Huang

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Mobile Apps ◽

Scientific Basis ◽

Mobile App ◽

Security Measures ◽

Privacy And Security ◽

Health Apps ◽

Mental Health Awareness ◽

Privacy Measures

BACKGROUND Mental disorders impose varying degrees of burden on patients and their surroundings. However, people are reluctant to take the initiative to seek mental health services because of the uneven distribution of resources and stigmatization. Thus, mobile apps are considered an effective way to eliminate these obstacles and improve mental health awareness. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the quality, function, privacy measures, and evidence-based and professional background of multipurpose mental health apps in Chinese commercial app stores. METHODS A systematic search was conducted on iOS and Android platforms in China to identify multipurpose mental health apps. Two independent reviewers evaluated the identified mobile apps using Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). Each app was downloaded, and the general characteristics, privacy and security measures, development background, and functional characteristics of each app were evaluated. RESULTS A total of 40 apps were analyzed, of which 35 apps (87.5%) were developed by companies and 33 apps (82.5%) provided links to access the privacy policy; 52.5% did not mention the involvement of relevant professionals or the guidance of scientific basis in the app development process. The main built-in functions of these apps include psychological education (38/40, 95%), self-assessment (34/40, 85%), and counseling (33/40, 83%). The overall quality average MARS score of the 40 apps was 3.53 (standard deviation 0.39), and the total score was between 2.96 and 4.30. The total score of MARS was significantly positively correlated with the scores of each subscale (r = 0.62–0.88; P <.001). However, the user score of the app market was not significantly correlated with the total score of MARS (r = 0.23; P =.19). CONCLUSIONS The quality of multipurpose mental health apps in China’s main app market is generally good and provides various functional combinations. However, health professionals are less involved in the development of these apps, and the privacy protection policy of the apps also needs to be described in more detail. This study provides a reference for the development of multipurpose mental health apps.

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Homeopathy and Psychiatry

10.1093/med/9780190690557.003.0010 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Bernardo A. Merizald

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Therapeutic Potential ◽

Case Reports ◽

Case Series ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Development Theory ◽

Health It ◽

Theory Application ◽

Controversial Topic ◽

The Relationship

This chapter presents a review of the controversial topic of homeopathic medicine as it applies to mental health. It provides an overview of the origins, development, theory, application of, and research on homeopathy. There have been several case series and case reports published illustrating the range of mental health conditions that have allegedly been treated with homeopathy. The relationship between homeopathic medicines and placebo is addressed, as well as show the process of the individualized homeopathic consultation could be classified as a form of a psychotherapeutic interview with unique therapeutic potential. There is also a brief introduction of some of the most basic medicines used by homeopaths and their application.

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