Ecological momentary interventions for mental health: A scoping review

Abstract

Background The development of mobile computing technology has enabled the delivery of psychological interventions while people go about their everyday lives. The original visions of the potential of these “ecological momentary interventions” were presented over a decade ago, and the widespread adoption of smartphones in the intervening years has led to a variety of research studies exploring the feasibility of these aspirations. However, there is a dearth of research describing the different dimensions, characteristics, and features of these interventions, as constructed. Objective To provide an overview of the definitions given for “ecological momentary interventions” in the treatment of common mental health disorders, and describe the set of technological and interaction possibilities which have been used in the design of these interventions. Methods A systematic search identified relevant literature published between 2009 and 2020 in the PubMed, PsycInfo, and ACM Guide to the Computing Literature databases. Following screening, data were extracted from eligible articles using a standardized extraction worksheet. Selected articles were then thematically categorized. Results The search identified 583 articles of which 64 met the inclusion criteria. The interventions target a range of mental health problems, with diverse aims, intervention designs and evaluation approaches. The studies employed a variety of features for intervention delivery, but recent research is overwhelmingly comprised of studies based on smartphone apps (30 of 42 papers that described an intervention). Twenty two studies employed sensors for the collection of data in order to provide just-in-time support or predict psychological states. Conclusions With the shift towards smartphone apps, the vision for EMIs has begun to be realised. Recent years have seen increased exploration of the use of sensors and machine learning, but the role of humans in the delivery of EMI is also varied. The variety of capabilities exhibited by EMIs motivates development of a more precise vocabulary for capturing both automatic and human tailoring of these interventions.

Daily social interactions related to daily performance on mobile cognitive tests among older adults

“…Specifically, our results provide empirical evidence to support behavioral interventions that target daily social interactions as risk factors to improve cognitive health and reduce future risks for cognitive decline and ADRD. Using novel mobile technology, older adults’ daily social interactions and cognitive function could be closely monitored and enhanced by just-in-time adaptive interventions [ 37 ], which are designed to deliver highly personalized treatments in real time and in one’s natural environment [ 38 , 39 ]. Our time-lagged analyses demonstrated the timescales over which the predictive effects of different features of social interactions on cognitive performance may manifest and persist, thus pointing out the best time windows for effective behavioral interventions targeting these features of social interactions.…”

Social Robots for Supporting Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnosis and Treatment

“…We clearly acknowledge that various screen-based (or virtual), non-embodied technologies can also assist with some of the challenges, for example, via the use of EMA and EMI methodologies (e.g., 15,17), or through use of a virtual agent on one's mobile device (e.g., 19,20). While these kinds of tools and instruments might be useful and widely available, social robots provide an additional benefit through their embodiment, in that they have the potential to communicate and interact with people in a more socially meaningful way by initiating interactions more naturally than mobile devices, and providing rapid and responsive ecological momentary interventions in users' natural physical settings.…”

“…Digitization in psychiatry is gaining momentum, providing those who suffer from low mental health with an increasing array of self-help solutions, many of which are available on users' mobile devices (see [10][11][12]. PTSD diagnosis and treatment can take many different forms, ranging from traditional questionnaires (see 13,14) to ecological momentary assessment (EMA) (e.g., 15,16) and intervention (EMI) (e.g., [16][17][18], mobile applications, virtual agents (e.g., [19][20][21][22], and exposure treatments using virtual reality (VR) devices (e.g., 23,24). However, in the following, we argue that social robots offer another promising approach for supporting PTSD diagnosis and treatment, due to their availability, autonomy, and embodiment.…”

The Functionality of Mobile Apps for Anxiety: Systematic Search and Analysis of Engagement and Tailoring Features

“…Two of the apps provided helplines and resource information based on location data. This contrasts with the academic literature, in which much recent research concerns the vision of just-in-time adaptive interventions that allow the provision of intervention content when users are in need of support [ 12 , 56 ] and the interest in exploiting machine learning to optimize treatment delivery within mental health [ 57 ].…”