The feasibility of using smartphones to assess and remediate depression in Hispanic/Latino individuals nationally

Pratap, Abhishek; Anguera, Joaquin A.; Renn, Brenna N.; Neto, Elias Chaibub; Volponi, Joshua; Mooney, Sean D.; Areán, Patricia A

doi:10.1145/3123024.3127877

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Pratap et al conducted a 3 month study to assess the feasibility of conducting a fully remote randomized controlled trial to screen for, assess, and treat depression in Latino individuals utilizing one of three apps to improve depressive symptoms: (1) EVO which uses therapeutic games, (2) iPST which employs psychotherapy principles, and (3) HTips which suggests mindfulness and behavioral exercises ( 40 ). The three apps were translated from English to Spanish by native Spanish speakers and professionals at Babble-on.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marketplace and Literature Review of Spanish Language Mental Health Apps

Muñoz

Camacho

Torous

2021

Front. Digit. Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Language differences between patients and providers remains a barrier to accessing health care, especially mental health services. One potential solution to reduce inequities for patients that speak different languages and improve their access to care is through the delivery of healthcare through mobile technology. Given that the Latinx community serves as the largest ethnic minority in the United States, this two-phased review examines Spanish app development, feasibility and efficacy. Phase 1 explored the commercial marketplace for apps available in Spanish, while phase 2 involved a literature review of published research centered around the creation, functions, and usability of these apps using the PubMed and Google Scholar electronic databases. Of the apps available on the database, only 14.5% of them had Spanish operability. The literature search uncovered 629 results, of which 12 research articles that tested or described 10 apps met the inclusion criteria. Of the 10 apps studied in this literature review, only four apps were translated to Spanish. Our study reveals that despite increasing interest in Spanish-language apps to address mental health, the commercial marketplace is not currently meeting the demand.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marketplace and Literature Review of Spanish Language Mental Health Apps

Muñoz

Camacho

Torous

2021

Front. Digit. Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…If one only considers the passive data compliance versus that of the active surveys in our study, passive data offers a viable opportunity to develop an individualized digital baseline (digital fingerprint) and investigate deviations from baseline phone usage to behavioral fluctuations. However, using cohort-level signals in passive data to predict depression states remains modest at best [ 31 - 33 ], suggesting that this approach will likely require larger studies and pairing with an active task-based component for the most effective solution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Mobile Apps to Assess and Treat Depression in Hispanic and Latino Populations: Fully Remote Randomized Clinical Trial

Pratap¹,

Renn²,

Volponi³

et al. 2018

J Med Internet Res

Self Cite

103

132

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundMost people with mental health disorders fail to receive timely access to adequate care. US Hispanic/Latino individuals are particularly underrepresented in mental health care and are historically a very difficult population to recruit into clinical trials; however, they have increasing access to mobile technology, with over 75% owning a smartphone. This technology has the potential to overcome known barriers to accessing and utilizing traditional assessment and treatment approaches.ObjectiveThis study aimed to compare recruitment and engagement in a fully remote trial of individuals with depression who either self-identify as Hispanic/Latino or not. A secondary aim was to assess treatment outcomes in these individuals using three different self-guided mobile apps: iPST (based on evidence-based therapeutic principles from problem-solving therapy, PST), Project Evolution (EVO; a cognitive training app based on cognitive neuroscience principles), and health tips (a health information app that served as an information control).MethodsWe recruited Spanish and English speaking participants through social media platforms, internet-based advertisements, and traditional fliers in select locations in each state across the United States. Assessment and self-guided treatment was conducted on each participant's smartphone or tablet. We enrolled 389 Hispanic/Latino and 637 non-Hispanic/Latino adults with mild to moderate depression as determined by Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score≥5 or related functional impairment. Participants were first asked about their preferences among the three apps and then randomized to their top two choices. Outcomes were depressive symptom severity (measured using PHQ-9) and functional impairment (assessed with Sheehan Disability Scale), collected over 3 months. Engagement in the study was assessed based on the number of times participants completed active surveys.ResultsWe screened 4502 participants and enrolled 1040 participants from throughout the United States over 6 months, yielding a sample of 348 active users. Long-term engagement surfaced as a key issue among Hispanic/Latino participants, who dropped from the study 2 weeks earlier than their non-Hispanic/Latino counterparts (P<.02). No significant differences were observed for treatment outcomes between those identifying as Hispanic/Latino or not. Although depressive symptoms improved (beta=–2.66, P=.006) over the treatment course, outcomes did not vary by treatment app.ConclusionsFully remote mobile-based studies can attract a diverse participant pool including people from traditionally underserved communities in mental health care and research (here, Hispanic/Latino individuals). However, keeping participants engaged in this type of “low-touch” research study remains challenging. Hispanic/Latino populations may be less willing to use mobile apps for assessing and managing depression. Future research endeavors should use a user-centered design to determine the role of mobile apps in the assessment and treatment of dep...

show abstract

“…Existing models of service delivery that require intensive and consumable resources are failing to meet the needs of these communities, and disparities in mental health care continue to rise. At present, there is limited but growing evidence to support the use of digital interventions in these communities, such as studies examining massive open online interventions (MOOIs) in lower middle income countries (44), telemedicine with rural communities (45,46), Internet interventions (47,48), and mobile based interventions with ethnic minorities (49)(50)(51). Some of these interventions have been used as stand-alone treatments while others leverage the use of community health workers to facilitate delivery of interventions.…”

Section: Addressing Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital apothecaries: a vision for making health care interventions accessible worldwide

Muñoz¹,

Chavira²,

Himle³

et al. 2018

mHealth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Evidence-based psychological interventions are growing in number but are not within reach of many individuals who could benefit from them. The recent revolution in digital technologies now makes it possible to reach people around the globe with digital interventions in the form of web sites, mobile applications, wearable devices, and so on. Although a plethora of digital interventions are available online few are evidence-based and individuals have little guidance to decide among the multitude of options. We propose the development of "digital apothecaries," that is, online repositories of evidence-based digital interventions. As portals to effective interventions, digital apothecaries would be useful to individuals who could access evidence-based interventions directly, to health care providers, who could identify specific digital tools to suggest to or use with their patients, and to researchers, who could study a range of tools with large samples, enabling comparative tests and evaluation of moderators of effects. We present a taxonomy of types of in-person and digital interventions ranging from traditional therapy without the use of digital tools to totally automated self-help interventions. This taxonomy highlights the potential of blending digital tools into health care systems to expand their reach. Digital apothecaries would provide access to evidence-based digital interventions (both free and paid versions), provide data on effectiveness (including effectiveness for diverse populations), and encourage the development and testing of more such tools. Other issues discussed include: criteria for inclusion of interventions into digital apothecaries; how digital tools could enhance health care for diverse populations; and cautionary notes regarding potential negative unintended consequences of the adoption of digital interventions into the health care system. In particular, we warn about the potential misuse of evidence-based digital interventions to justify reducing access to live providers. Digital apothecaries bring with them the promise of reducing health disparities by reaching large numbers of individuals across the world who need health interventions but are not currently receiving them. The health care field is encouraged to mindfully develop this promise, while being alert not to cause inadvertent harm.

show abstract

The feasibility of using smartphones to assess and remediate depression in Hispanic/Latino individuals nationally

Cited by 15 publications

References 3 publications

Marketplace and Literature Review of Spanish Language Mental Health Apps

Marketplace and Literature Review of Spanish Language Mental Health Apps

Using Mobile Apps to Assess and Treat Depression in Hispanic and Latino Populations: Fully Remote Randomized Clinical Trial

Digital apothecaries: a vision for making health care interventions accessible worldwide

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About