scholarly journals Editorial: Use of Smartphone Applications to Increase Physical Activity and Fitness

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robertas Damaševičius ◽  
Jayoung Kim ◽  
Victor Z. Dourado
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Smartphone Applications

Knowledge, attitude, and willingness to use and pay for smartphone applications for physical activity among pregnant women

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
ChidozieEmmanuel Mbada ◽  
OluwaseunOlayinka Omole ◽  
ChizobaFavour Igwe ◽  
DavidBamidele Olakorede ◽  
ClaraToyin Fatoye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Smartphone Applications ◽  
Willingness To Use

scholarly journals A Smartphone-Assisted Brief Behavioral Intervention for Pregnant Women with Depression: a Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Zuccolo ◽  
Mariana O. Xavier ◽  
Alicia Matijasevich ◽  
Guilherme Polanczyk ◽  
Daniel Fatori
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Maternal Depression ◽  
Active Control ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Smartphone Applications ◽  
Educational Content ◽  
Randomized Controlled

Background: Pregnancy is strongly associated with increased risk for depression. Approximately 25% of pregnant women develop depression. Treatment for depression during pregnancy has several complexities: the use of psychiatric medications during pregnancy might result in developmental problems in the child and must be used with caution. Psychosocial interventions are effective, but they require specialized professionals. Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) countries such as Brazil do not have enough mental health professionals needed to meet this demand. In this context, smartphone-based interventions show immense potential. We developed Motherly, a smartphone application (app) designed to treat maternal depression. We aim to test the efficacy of Motherly in addition to brief cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT) to treat maternal depression. Methods: We will conduct a 2-arm parallel randomized controlled clinical trial in which 70 pregnant women aged between 16-40 years with depression will be randomized to intervention or active control. The intervention group will have access to Motherly, a smartphone app based on three concepts: psychoeducation, behavior monitoring, and gaming elements. Motherly is composed of a package of interventions composed of modules: mental health, sleep, nutrition, physical activity, social support, prenatal/postnatal support, and educational content. The main focus of Motherly is delivering behavioral activation (BA), a brief and structured psychological treatment. The app allows participants to schedule and engage in, and monitor activities according to a plan to avoid acting exclusively according to their mood. The active control group will have access to a simplified version of the app consisting of educational content about various aspects of pregnancy, maternal physical and mental health, and infant development (BA, activity scheduling, sleep hygiene, among other functionalities, will not be present in this version). Both groups will receive four sessions of brief CBT in 8 weeks. Participants will be evaluated by assessors blind to randomization and allocation status. Assessments will occur at baseline (T0), midpoint (T1, week 4-5), posttreatment (T2, week 8), and follow-up (T3, when the child is two months-old). Maternal mental health (prenatal anxiety, psychological well-being, perceived stress, depression, depression severity, and sleep quality), quality of life, physical activity levels, and infant developmental milestones and social/emotional problems will be measured. Our primary outcome is the change in maternal prenatal depression from baseline to posttreatment (8 weeks). Discussion: The potential of digital technology to deliver mental health interventions has been increasingly recognized worldwide. There is a growing literature on interventions using smartphone applications to promote mental health, both with or without the intermediation of a mental health professional. Our study adds to the literature by testing whether an app providing an intervention package, including CBT, psychoeducation, nutrition, physical activity, and social support, can promote maternal and child health and well-being. In particular, we aim to treat depression, for which the use of digital technologies is still scarce. Smartphone applications designed to treat maternal depression are especially relevant because of the potential to circumvent barriers that prevent pregnant women from accessing mental health care.

scholarly journals A smartphone-assisted brief online cognitive-behavioral intervention for pregnant women with depression: a study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Fonseca Zuccolo ◽  
Mariana O. Xavier ◽  
Alicia Matijasevich ◽  
Guilherme Polanczyk ◽  
Daniel Fatori
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Maternal Depression ◽  
Active Control ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Smartphone Applications ◽  
Educational Content ◽  
Randomized Controlled

Abstract Background Pregnancy is strongly associated with increased risk for depression. Approximately 25% of pregnant women develop depression. Treatment for depression during pregnancy has several complexities: the use of psychiatric medications during pregnancy might result in developmental problems in the child and must be used with caution. Psychosocial interventions are effective, but they require specialized professionals. Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) such as Brazil do not have enough mental health professionals needed to meet this demand. In this context, smartphone-based interventions show immense potential. We developed Motherly, a smartphone application (app) designed to treat maternal depression. We aim to test the efficacy of Motherly in addition to brief cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT) to treat maternal depression. Methods We will conduct a 2-arm parallel-randomized controlled clinical trial in which 70 pregnant women aged between 16 and 40 years with depression will be randomized to intervention or active control. The intervention group will have access to Motherly, a smartphone app based on three concepts: psychoeducation, behavior monitoring, and gaming elements. Motherly is composed of a package of interventions composed of modules: mental health, sleep, nutrition, physical activity, social support, prenatal/postnatal support, and educational content. The main focus of Motherly is delivering behavioral activation (BA), a brief and structured psychological treatment. The app allows participants to schedule and engage in, and monitor activities according to a plan to avoid acting exclusively according to their mood. The active control group will have access to a simplified version of the app consisting of educational content about various aspects of pregnancy, maternal physical and mental health, and infant development (BA, activity scheduling, sleep hygiene, among other functionalities, will not be present in this version). Both groups will receive four sessions of brief CBT in 8 weeks. Participants will be evaluated by assessors blind to randomization and allocation status. Assessments will occur at baseline (T0), midpoint (T1, week 4–5), posttreatment (T2, week 8), and follow-up (T3, when the child is 2 months old). Maternal mental health (prenatal anxiety, psychological well-being, perceived stress, depression, depression severity, and sleep quality), quality of life, physical activity levels, and infant developmental milestones and social/emotional problems will be measured. Our primary outcome is the change in maternal prenatal depression from baseline to posttreatment (8 weeks). Discussion The potential of digital technology to deliver mental health interventions has been increasingly recognized worldwide. There is a growing literature on interventions using smartphone applications to promote mental health, both with or without the intermediation of a mental health professional. Our study adds to the literature by testing whether an app providing an intervention package, including CBT, psychoeducation, nutrition, physical activity, and social support, can promote maternal and child health and well-being. In particular, we aim to treat depression, for which the use of digital technologies is still scarce. Smartphone applications designed to treat maternal depression are especially relevant because of the potential to circumvent barriers that prevent pregnant women from accessing mental health care. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04495166. Prospectively registered on July 29, 2020.

scholarly journals Smartphone applications for physical activity and sedentary behaviour change in people with cardiovascular disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258460
Author(s):  
Kacie Patterson ◽  
Rachel Davey ◽  
Richard Keegan ◽  
Nicole Freene
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Sedentary Behaviour ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Smartphone Applications ◽  
Activity Tracker ◽  
Target Behaviour ◽  
Subgroup Analyses

Background Smartphone applications provide new opportunities for secondary prevention healthcare. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine if smartphone applications are effective at changing physical activity and sedentary behaviour in people with cardiovascular disease. Methods Six electronic databases (Medline, CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, Sports Discus and EMBASE) were searched from 2007 to October 2020. Cardiovascular disease secondary prevention physical activity or sedentary behaviour interventions were included where the primary element was a smartphone or tablet computer application (excluding SMS-only text-messaging). Study quality was assessed using validated tools appropriate for each study design. Random effects model was used and the pooled mean difference between post scores were calculated. Subgroup analyses were conducted to examine differences based on diagnosis, sample size, age, intervention duration, activity tracker use, target behaviour, and self-report versus device-measured outcome. Results Nineteen studies with a total of 1,543 participants were included (coronary heart disease, n = 10; hypertension, n = 4; stroke, n = 3; heart failure, n = 1; peripheral artery disease, n = 1). Risk of bias was rated as high. Thirteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. Only two controlled studies reported on sedentary behaviour. Smartphone applications produced a significant increase of 40.35 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity per week (7 studies; p = 0.04; 95% CI 1.03 to 79.67) and 2,390 steps per day (3 studies; p = 0.0007; 95% CI 1,006.9 to 3,791.2). Subgroup analyses found no difference when comparing diagnoses, sample size, activity tracker use, target behaviour and self-report versus device-measured outcome. Larger improvements in physical activity were noted in intervention durations of ≤3-months and participants ≥60yrs (95.35 mins.week-1; p = 0.05). Conclusions Smartphone applications were effective in increasing physical activity in people with cardiovascular disease. Caution is warranted for the low-quality evidence, small sample and larger coronary heart disease representation. More rigorous research is needed to investigate the effect of smartphone applications across diagnoses and in sedentary behaviour.

Prescribing smartphone applications for physical activity promotion in primary care: modeling health gain and cost savings (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Grout ◽  
Kendra Telfer ◽  
Nick Wilson ◽  
Christine Cleghorn ◽  
Anja Mizdrak
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Health System ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Smartphone Applications ◽  
Primary Care Settings ◽  
Health Gains ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Physical Activity Levels

BACKGROUND Inadequate physical activity is a substantial cause of health loss globally with this loss attributable to such diseases as coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and certain forms of cancer. OBJECTIVE We aimed to assess the potential impact of the prescription of smartphone applications (apps) in primary care settings on physical activity levels, health gains (in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs)), and health system costs in New Zealand (NZ). METHODS A proportional multistate lifetable model was used to estimate the change in physical activity levels and to predict resultant health gains in QALYs and health system costs over the remaining lifespan of the NZ population alive in 2011 at a 3% discount rate. RESULTS The modeled intervention resulted in an estimated 430 QALYs (95% uncertainty interval: 320 to 550), with net cost-savings of NZ $2.2 million (2018 US $1.6 million) over the remaining lifespan of the 2011 NZ population. On a per capita basis, QALY gains were generally larger in women than men, and larger in Māori than non-Māori. The health impact and cost-effectiveness of the intervention were highly sensitive to assumptions around intervention uptake and decay. For example, the scenario analysis with the largest benefits, which assumed a five-year maintenance of additional physical activity levels, delivered 1750 QALYs and NZ $22.5 million in cost-savings. CONCLUSIONS The prescription of smartphone apps for promoting physical activity in primary care settings is likely to generate modest health gains and cost-savings at the population level, in this high-income country. Such gains may increase with ongoing improvements in app design and increased health worker promotion to patients.

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