The use of eHealth to promote physical activity in patients with mental health conditions: a systematic review

Abstract

Background: Achieving adequate amounts of physical activity (PA) confers important physical and mental health benefits. Despite this, individuals with mental health conditions often do not meet recommended levels of PA. eHealth, the delivery of health information through internet and mobile technologies, is an emerging concept in healthcare which presents opportunities to improve PA in people with mental conditions. The aim of this systematic review is to explore if eHealth interventions increase PA levels among individuals with mental health conditions. Methods: Databases searched included OVID Medline, EMBASE, PsychInfo and Web of Science using a combination of key-words and medical subject headings. Articles were included if they described an eHealth intervention designed to improve PA in individuals with mental health conditions. Two reviewers screened articles for inclusion. Results: In total 2,994 articles were identified. Seven studies met the eligibility criteria. A variety of eHealth platforms designed to increase PA were described in these studies; web-based (n=4), web and mobile application (n=3) and e-mail-based (n=1), one study used both a web-based and mobile application. Three studies reported eHealth intervention significantly increased PA levels. Four studies reported that higher levels of PA resulted in improvements in mental health outcomes. Conclusion: eHealth interventions may be an innovative low cost method to increase PA levels which may have knock-on effects on mental health outcomes. Although some of the included studies in this review demonstrated promising results, methodological restrictions and potential biases from using subjective measures of PA limit the interpretability of these results. Future research should evaluate this nascent technology using well designed trials.

Undergraduate Students’ Stress, Anxiety and Depression Remote Health Monitoring System

“…One of the well-known healthcare practices is eHealth. A study carried out by [31] discussed the use of eHealth to promote physical activities in patients with mental health conditions. Physical activities can improve mood and sleep, reduce stress as well as to strengthen self-esteem.…”

Mental health informed physical activity for first responders and their support partner: a protocol for a stepped-wedge evaluation of an online, codesigned intervention

“…Facebook groups have previously been used effectively to deliver behavioural change interventions in both the general population and in people with serious mental illness 27 28. A recent review found that eHealth technologies including social media platforms such as Facebook can increase PA levels and may have beneficial effects on mental health outcomes in patients with mental illness 29. The reach and popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook may therefore offer highly scalable and cost-effective opportunities for engaging first responders in PA-focused lifestyle interventions.…”