Mental health: There’s an app for that

Anthes, Emily

doi:10.1038/532020a

Cited by 315 publications

(209 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Mobile phones are a powerful tool for studying large-scale population dynamics and health on a global scale 12, 16 , revealing the basic patterns of human movement 17 , mood rhythms 18 , the dynamics of the spread of diseases such as malaria 19 , and socioeconomic status in developing countries 20 . Smartphones are now being used globally, with the adoption rate among adults at 69% in developed countries and 46% in developing economies and growing rapidly 21 . With onboard accelerometers for automatic recording of activity throughout the day, smartphones provide a scalable tool to measure physical activity worldwide.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…9), suggesting that our findings are robust to variation in socioeconomic status. The majority of adults in developed countries already own a smartphone and the number of smartphone connections worldwide is expected to increase 50% by 2020 21 , so we expect any biases to diminish in the future. While walking is the most popular aerobic physical activity 29 , our dataset may fail to capture time spent in activities where it is impractical to carry a phone ( e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality

Althoff

Sosič

Hicks

et al. 2017

Nature

786

556

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Understanding the basic principles that govern physical activity is needed to curb the global pandemic of physical inactivity1–7 and the 5.3 million deaths per year associated with in-activity2. Our knowledge, however, remains limited owing to the lack of large-scale measurements of physical activity patterns across free-living populations worldwide1, 6. Here, we leverage the wide usage of smartphones with built-in accelerometry to measure physical activity at planetary scale. We study a dataset consisting of 68 million days of physical activity for 717,527 people, giving us a window into activity in 111 countries across the globe. We find inequality in how activity is distributed within countries and that this inequality is a better predictor of obesity prevalence in the population than average activity volume. Reduced activity in females contributes to a large portion of the observed activity inequality. Aspects of the built environment, such as the walkability of a city, were associated with less gender gap in activity and activity inequality. In more walkable cities, activity is greater throughout the day and throughout the week, across age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) groups, with the greatest increases in activity for females. Our findings have implications for global public health policy and urban planning and highlight the role of activity inequality and the built environment for improving physical activity and health.

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality

Althoff

Sosič

Hicks

et al. 2017

Nature

786

556

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“…At present, about two-thirds of the world use the Internet at least occasionally or own a smartphone, and the most dramatic rate increases have occurred in developing countries [32]. Mobile health technologies are believed to hold promise to reduce accessibility gaps in mental health services, yet, it is also recognized that efficacy research is in its infancy [33]. People are increasingly using the Internet for information and support, but more work is needed to tailor culturally-appropriate online pain resources and reduce disparities in access [17].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Focus on the Good” - Participant Perspectives after Engaging in an Online Pain Self-Management Program

Wilson¹,

Shaw

2017

Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (2017)

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate participants' perspectives after engaging in an 8-week online pain self-management program. Unexplored qualitative data for this analysis were collected via secure online surveys distributed during a previously published randomized controlled trial. Participants for the present study were 55 adults prescribed opioid medicines for chronic pain. A qualitative descriptive approach using content analysis methods was used to analyze data obtained from three open-ended survey questions. Five common themes were identified from participant responses regarding online participation. Three themes described the benefits of the program and included: positive reframing, improved accountability, and feeling supported. Two themes described how participants would like to improve the program experience and included: desire for personalizing and ease of use. Participants' insights regarding perceived benefits and limitations can assist health care providers in understanding how online programs may assist in chronic disease selfmanagement for a multitude of health problems.

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“…29% of people will experience some form of mental disorder in their lifetime [2]. Yet care is often difficult to access: only 45% of people in developed countries receive care, and the percentage of people who receive treatment is just 15% in developing countries [3]. Even when patients have access to mental healthcare, it may be inadequate.…”

Section: Key Pointsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While access to mental healthcare is not always available, more and more people have access to the Internet and smartphones, even in the developing world [3]. CBT is a good intervention for technology-based applications because the concepts are easily adapted into broadly applicable sessions (or modules) that can be distributed by email, the web, or apps [9].…”

Section: Key Pointsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Internet and CBT: A New Clinical Application of an Effective Therapy

Gratzer¹,

Khalid-Khan²,

Balasingham³

2018

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Clinical Applications

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Mental disorders are disabling and common. Depression, for example, has greater global burden of disease than any physical disorder, and almost a third of people will experience some form of mental disorder in their lifetime. The effectiveness of psychological interventions is well established. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is particularly effective for mood and anxiety disorders. But CBT is demanding of time and resources, partly explaining its limited availability, even in public systems. More and more people have access to the Internet and smartphones, even in the developing world. Internet therapies (including smart-phone apps) have been developed, offering CBT. Can technology help with access to CBT? In this chapter, we will look at the effectiveness of iCBT for several illnesses, based on new evidence from recent randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses, noting that while there is evidence for this therapy, not all programs have the same results. We consider iCBT in the real world, by looking at some popular apps and websites, including MoodGYM, and also present a case from The Scarborough Hospital (where we implemented a free-at-the-point-ofuse iCBT program), demonstrating how it can be applied in an outpatient setting. We also present the current strengths and limitations associated with iCBT. Finally, we consider future directions for this field, considering chatbots and the possibilities with Artificial Intelligence.

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Mental health: There’s an app for that

Cited by 315 publications

References 16 publications

Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality

Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality

“Focus on the Good” - Participant Perspectives after Engaging in an Online Pain Self-Management Program

The Internet and CBT: A New Clinical Application of an Effective Therapy

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