Vincent I O Agyapong1,2, Reham Shalaby1, Marianne Hrabok1,3, Wesley Vuong2, Jasmine M Noble1,4, April Gusnowski2, Kelly Mrklas5,6, Daniel Li1,2, Mark Snaterse2, Shireen Surood2, Bo Cao1, Xin-Min Li1, Russell Greiner1,7,8, Andrew J Greenshaw1,9. 1. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7, Canada. 2. Addiction and Mental Health, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7, Canada. 3. Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada. 4. Institute of Health Economics, 1200 10405 Jasper Avenue Edmonton, AB T5J 3N4, Canada. 5. Strategic Clinical NetworksTM, Provincial Clinical Excellence, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, AB T2P 2M5, Canada. 6. Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada. 7. Department of Computing Science, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7, Canada. 8. Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7, Canada. 9. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital Hub for Mental Health, Canada.
Abstract
Background: In March 2020, Alberta Health Services launched Text4Hope, a free mental health text-message service. The service aimed to alleviate pandemic-associated stress, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and suicidal propensity. The effectiveness of Text4Hope was evaluated by comparing psychiatric parameters between two subscriber groups. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study with two arms: Text4Hope subscribers who received daily texts for six weeks, the intervention group (IG); and new Text4Hope subscribers who were yet to receive messages, the control group (CG). Logistic regression models were used in the analysis. Results: Participants in the IG had lower prevalence rates for moderate/high stress (78.8% vs. 88.0%), likely GAD (31.4% vs. 46.5%), and likely MDD (36.8% vs. 52.1%), respectively, compared to respondents in the CG. After controlling for demographic variables, the IG remained less likely to self-report symptoms of moderate/high stress (OR = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.41-0.75), likely GAD (OR = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.44-0.68), and likely MDD (OR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.47-0.73). The mean Composite Mental Health score, the sum of mean scores on the PSS, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 was 20.9% higher in the CG. Conclusions: Text4Hope is an effective population-level intervention that helps reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar texting services should be implemented during global crises.
Background: In March 2020, Alberta Health Services launched Text4Hope, a free mental health text-message service. The service aimed to alleviate pandemic-associated stress, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and suicidal propensity. The effectiveness of Text4Hope was evaluated by comparing psychiatric parameters between two subscriber groups. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study with two arms: Text4Hope subscribers who received daily texts for six weeks, the intervention group (IG); and new Text4Hope subscribers who were yet to receive messages, the control group (CG). Logistic regression models were used in the analysis. Results:Participants in the IG had lower prevalence rates for moderate/high stress (78.8% vs. 88.0%), likely GAD (31.4% vs. 46.5%), and likely MDD (36.8% vs. 52.1%), respectively, compared to respondents in the CG. After controlling for demographic variables, the IG remained less likely to self-report symptoms of moderate/high stress (OR = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.41-0.75), likely GAD (OR = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.44-0.68), and likely MDD (OR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.47-0.73). The mean Composite Mental Health score, the sum of mean scores on the PSS, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 was 20.9% higher in the CG. Conclusions: Text4Hope is an effective population-level intervention that helps reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar texting services should be implemented during global crises.
Entities:
Keywords:
COVID-19; Text4Hope; anxiety; depression; pandemic; stress; text messaging
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