| Literature DB >> 33937159 |
Roland Weierstall1, Anselm Crombach2,3, Corina Nandi2, Manassé Bambonyé3, Thomas Probst4, Rüdiger Pryss5.
Abstract
Research on the use of mobile technology in health sciences has identified several advantages of so-called mHealth (mobile health) applications. Tablet-supported clinical assessments are becoming more and more prominent in clinical applications, even in low-income countries. The present study used tablet computers for assessments of clinical symptom profiles in a sample of Burundian AMISOM soldiers (i.e., African Union Mission to Somalia; a mission approved by the UN). The study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of mHealth-supported assessments in field research in Burundi. The study was conducted in a resource-poor setting, in which tablet computers are predestined to gather data in an efficient and reliable manner. The overall goal was to prove the validity of the obtained data as well as the feasibility of the chosen study setting. Four hundred sixty-three soldiers of the AMISOM forces were investigated after return from a 1-year military mission in Somalia. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression were assessed. The used data-driven approach based on a latent profile analysis revealed the following four distinct groups, which are based on the soldiers' PTSD and depression symptom profiles: Class 1: moderate PTSD, Class 2: moderate depression, Class 3: low overall symptoms, and Class 4: high overall symptoms. Overall, the four identified classes of soldiers differed significantly in their PTSD and depression scores. The study clearly demonstrates that tablet-supported assessments can provide a useful application of mobile technology in large-scale studies, especially in resource-poor settings. Based on the data collected for the study at hand, it was possible to differentiate different sub-groups of soldiers with distinct symptom profiles, proving the statistical validity of the gathered data. Finally, advantages and challenges for the application of mobile technology in a resource-poor setting are outlined and discussed.Entities:
Keywords: PTSD; application; depression; latent-profile-analysis; mobile data collection; post-deployment aggression; soldiers; tablet computer
Year: 2021 PMID: 33937159 PMCID: PMC8083058 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.490604
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Front Public Health ISSN: 2296-2565
Fit indices for the seven different latent profile analyses.
| 2 classes | −7,828.89 | 14,184.64 | 0.914 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| 3 classes | −6,826.47 | 13,905.54 | 0.895 | 0.232 | 0.231 |
| – | |||||
| 5 classes | −6,428.32 | 13,818.59 | 0.888 | 0.502 | 0.503 |
| 6 classes | −6,396.03 | 13,981.80 | 0.891 | 0.735 | 0.736 |
| 7 classes | −6,352.41 | 14,173.28 | 0.901 | 0.655 | 0.656 |
| 8 classes | −6,306.72 | 14,258.65 | 0.911 | 0.340 | 0.340 |
BIC, bayesian information criterion; LMRA-A, Lo-Mendell-Rubin adjusted likelihood ratio test; BLRT, bootstrap likelihood ratio test. The bold values represent the finally selected model.
Figure 1Estimated coefficient means in the PHQ-9 and PSS-I items across the four classes derived from the Latent Profile Analyses. For a better visual presentation, coefficients smaller than−10 were set to−10.
Average posterior probabilities for the 4-class model.
| class 1 | 194 | 0.01 | 0.04 | 0.00 | |
| class 2 | 91 | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0.02 | |
| class 3 | 115 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.02 | |
| class 4 | 63 | 0.00 | <0.01 | <0.01 |
Posterior probabilities represent the probability that an individual belongs to the respective assigned class. The bold values highlight the correct classification.
Figure 2Differences in the mean scores between the four classes of participants for the PHQ-9 sum score as well as the PSS-I sub-scales. Means and Standard Deviations are displayed.