Mark Deady1, Nicholas Glozier2, Rafael Calvo3,4, David Johnston1,5, Andrew Mackinnon1, David Milne6, Isabella Choi2, Aimee Gayed7, Dorian Peters3,8, Richard Bryant9, Helen Christensen1, Samuel B Harvey1. 1. Black Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia. 2. Central Clinical School, Brain and Mind Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. 3. School of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. 4. Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK. 5. MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. 6. School of Systems Management and Leadership, Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. 7. School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia. 8. Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. 9. School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is evidence that depression can be prevented; however, traditional approaches face significant scalability issues. Digital technologies provide a potential solution, although this has not been adequately tested. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new smartphone app designed to reduce depression symptoms and subsequent incident depression amongst a large group of Australian workers. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with follow-up assessments at 5 weeks and 3 and 12 months post-baseline. Participants were employed Australians reporting no clinically significant depression. The intervention group (N = 1128) was allocated to use HeadGear, a smartphone app which included a 30-day behavioural activation and mindfulness intervention. The attention-control group (N = 1143) used an app which included a 30-day mood monitoring component. The primary outcome was the level of depressive symptomatology (PHQ-9) at 3-month follow-up. Analyses were conducted within an intention-to-treat framework using mixed modelling. RESULTS: Those assigned to the HeadGear arm had fewer depressive symptoms over the course of the trial compared to those assigned to the control (F3,734.7 = 2.98, p = 0.031). Prevalence of depression over the 12-month period was 8.0% and 3.5% for controls and HeadGear recipients, respectively, with odds of depression caseness amongst the intervention group of 0.43 (p = 0.001, 95% CI 0.26-0.70). CONCLUSIONS: This trial demonstrates that a smartphone app can reduce depression symptoms and potentially prevent incident depression caseness and such interventions may have a role in improving working population mental health. Some caution in interpretation is needed regarding the clinical significance due to small effect size and trial attrition.Trial Registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (www.anzctr.org.au/) ACTRN12617000548336.
BACKGROUND: There is evidence that depression can be prevented; however, traditional approaches face significant scalability issues. Digital technologies provide a potential solution, although this has not been adequately tested. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new smartphone app designed to reduce depression symptoms and subsequent incident depression amongst a large group of Australian workers. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with follow-up assessments at 5 weeks and 3 and 12 months post-baseline. Participants were employed Australians reporting no clinically significant depression. The intervention group (N = 1128) was allocated to use HeadGear, a smartphone app which included a 30-day behavioural activation and mindfulness intervention. The attention-control group (N = 1143) used an app which included a 30-day mood monitoring component. The primary outcome was the level of depressive symptomatology (PHQ-9) at 3-month follow-up. Analyses were conducted within an intention-to-treat framework using mixed modelling. RESULTS: Those assigned to the HeadGear arm had fewer depressive symptoms over the course of the trial compared to those assigned to the control (F3,734.7 = 2.98, p = 0.031). Prevalence of depression over the 12-month period was 8.0% and 3.5% for controls and HeadGear recipients, respectively, with odds of depression caseness amongst the intervention group of 0.43 (p = 0.001, 95% CI 0.26-0.70). CONCLUSIONS: This trial demonstrates that a smartphone app can reduce depression symptoms and potentially prevent incident depression caseness and such interventions may have a role in improving working population mental health. Some caution in interpretation is needed regarding the clinical significance due to small effect size and trial attrition.Trial Registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (www.anzctr.org.au/) ACTRN12617000548336.
Entities:
Keywords:
Behavioural activation; depression; eHealth; mHealth; mindfulness; randomized control trial; smartphone; workplace mental health
Authors: Robert Jakob; Samira Harperink; Aaron Maria Rudolf; Elgar Fleisch; Severin Haug; Jacqueline Louise Mair; Alicia Salamanca-Sanabria; Tobias Kowatsch Journal: J Med Internet Res Date: 2022-05-25 Impact factor: 7.076
Authors: Daniel A J Collins; Samuel B Harvey; Isobel Lavender; Nicholas Glozier; Helen Christensen; Mark Deady Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-09-16 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Mark Deady; Nicholas Glozier; Daniel Collins; Rochelle Einboden; Isobel Lavender; Alexis Wray; Aimee Gayed; Rafael A Calvo; Helen Christensen; Samuel B Harvey; Isabella Choi Journal: Front Public Health Date: 2020-09-04