Variety of Digital Apps Aid Mental Health Symptoms in Adults

MONDAY, July 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Mindfulness-based, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based, and personalized feedback digital interventions are similarly effective in reducing mental health symptoms in adult outpatients, according to a study published online July 18 in JAMA Network Open.

Adam G. Horwitz, Ph.D., from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, and colleagues evaluated whether patients randomly assigned to a CBT-based or mindfulness-based digital mental health intervention (DMHI) had greater improvements in mental health symptoms than patients receiving enhanced personalized feedback (EPF)-only DMHI. Analysis included 2,079 adult psychiatric outpatients randomly assigned to EPF only; Silvercloud only, a mobile application designed to deliver CBT strategies; Silvercloud plus EPF; Headspace only, a mobile application designed to train users in mindfulness practices; or Headspace plus EPF for six weeks.

The researchers found that the baseline mean Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score was 12.7 and significantly decreased for all intervention arms at six weeks (range, −2.1 to −2.9). Across the arms, the magnitude of change was not significantly different. The groups were also similar with respect to decrease in anxiety or substance use symptoms. The Headspace arms reported significantly greater improvements on a suicidality measure subscale versus the Silvercloud arms.

“Findings of this study suggest that different digital interventions can be used as supplemental or adjunctive tools within health care systems and may support patients during waiting list-related delays in care,” the authors write.

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