A pilot digital intervention targeting loneliness in young people with psychosis

Lim, Michelle H.; Gleeson, John; Rodebaugh, Thomas L.; Eres, Robert; Long, Katrina M; Casey, Kit; Abbott, Jo; Thomas, Neil; Penn, David L.

doi:10.1007/s00127-019-01681-2

Cited by 66 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Thus, although digital interventions have been insufficiently tested in substantial RCTs to date, it is feasible to implement such interventions for people with severe mental health problems in order to reduce loneliness, and there is a need for future research to develop and further examine digital interventions on a larger scale. Additionally, the successful implementation of interventions involving positive psychology in the two pilot trials from Lim and her colleagues [31,96] supports the idea that subjective social isolation is increasingly recognised as a primary treatment outcome for people with psychosis in the mental health field, and future research should also focus on the development and examination of new types of intervention that target loneliness directly for people with mental health problems.…”

Section: Research Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…This review identified few trials that included loneliness as their main outcome, and none yielded positive results. Recently published pilot trials have established that loneliness is a feasible target for intervention in severe mental illness, either through face-to-face or digital programmes [31,96]. However, there is still a pressing need to evaluate interventions for loneliness scientifically in largescale RCTs, given growing enthusiasm for these approaches.…”

Section: Research Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, a full trial utilising a single-blind RCT design to evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention over an 18-month follow-up period is taking place for young people with FEP [107]. In another recent feasibility trial [96], authors developed a digital smartphone application (app) named +Connect, which sought to utilise a positive psychology intervention (PPI) for young adults with early psychosis. The programme was found to be effective in reducing loneliness from baseline to 3-month post-intervention follow-up.…”

Section: Research Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The effectiveness of interventions for reducing subjective and objective social isolation among people with mental health problems: a systematic review

Mann

Wang

et al. 2019

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

113

122

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Purpose Subjective and objective social isolation are important factors contributing to both physical and mental health problems, including premature mortality and depression. This systematic review evaluated the current evidence for the effectiveness of interventions to improve subjective and/or objective social isolation for people with mental health problems. Primary outcomes of interest included loneliness, perceived social support, and objective social isolation. Methods Three databases were searched for relevant randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Studies were included if they evaluated interventions for people with mental health problems and had objective and/or subjective social isolation (including loneliness) as their primary outcome, or as one of a number of outcomes with none identified as primary. Results In total, 30 RCTs met the review's inclusion criteria: 15 included subjective social isolation as an outcome and 11 included objective social isolation. The remaining four evaluated both outcomes. There was considerable variability between trials in types of intervention and participants' characteristics. Significant results were reported in a minority of trials, but methodological limitations, such as small sample size, restricted conclusions from many studies. Conclusion The evidence is not yet strong enough to make specific recommendations for practice. Preliminary evidence suggests that promising interventions may include cognitive modification for subjective social isolation, and interventions with mixed strategies and supported socialisation for objective social isolation. We highlight the need for more thorough, theory-driven intervention development and for well-designed and adequately powered RCTs.

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Section: Research Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Research Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The effectiveness of interventions for reducing subjective and objective social isolation among people with mental health problems: a systematic review

Mann

Wang

et al. 2019

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

113

122

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Of the 15 papers describing 15 unique studies ( Table 1 ), 4 were concerning participants with psychosis [ 13 - 16 ], 3 were concerning participants with eating disorders [ 17 - 19 ], 2 were concerning participants with depression [ 20 , 21 ], 2 were concerning participants with autism [ 22 , 23 ], 1 was concerning participants with substance abuse [ 24 ], 1 was concerning participants with suicidal behavior [ 25 ], 1 was concerning participants with self-harming behavior [ 26 ], and 1 was concerning participants with anxiety [ 27 ]. In all the included studies, participants were referred by external clinicians who had established the diagnosis or the need for treatment, and in 2 studies, the diagnoses were also validated by researchers at baseline [ 18 , 27 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smartphone-Based Self-Monitoring, Treatment, and Automatically Generated Data in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Psychiatric Disorders: Systematic Review

et al. 2020

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Background Psychiatric disorders often have an onset at an early age, and early identification and intervention help improve prognosis. A fine-grained, unobtrusive, and effective way to monitor symptoms and level of function could help distinguish severe psychiatric health problems from normal behavior and potentially lead to a more efficient use of clinical resources in the current health care system. The use of smartphones to monitor and treat children, adolescents, and young adults with psychiatric disorders has been widely investigated. However, no systematic review concerning smartphone-based monitoring and treatment in this population has been published. Objective This systematic review aims at describing the following 4 features of the eligible studies: (1) monitoring features such as self-assessment and automatically generated data, (2) treatment delivered by the app, (3) adherence to self-monitoring, and (4) results of the individual studies. Methods We conducted a systematic literature search of the PubMed, Embase, and PsycInfo databases. We searched for studies that (1) included a smartphone app to collect self-monitoring data, a smartphone app to collect automatically generated smartphone-based data, or a smartphone-based system for treatment; (2) had participants who were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders or received treatment for a psychiatric disorder, which was verified by an external clinician; (3) had participants who were younger than 25 years; and (4) were published in a peer-reviewed journal. This systematic review was reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The risk of bias in each individual study was systematically assessed. Results A total of 2546 unique studies were identified through literature search; 15 of these fulfilled the criteria for inclusion. These studies covered 8 different diagnostic groups: psychosis, eating disorders, depression, autism, self-harm, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidal behavior. Smartphone-based self-monitoring was used in all but 1 study, and 11 of them reported on the participants’ adherence to self-monitoring. Most studies were feasibility/pilot studies, and all studies on feasibility reported positive attitudes toward the use of smartphones for self-monitoring. In 2 studies, automatically generated data were collected. Three studies were randomized controlled trials investigating the effectiveness of smartphone-based monitoring and treatment, with 2 of these showing a positive treatment effect. In 2 randomized controlled trials, the researchers were blinded for randomization, but the participants were not blinded in any of the studies. All studies were determined to be at high risk of bias in several areas. Conclusions Smartphones hold great potential as a modern, widely available technology platform to help diagnose, monitor, and treat psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. However, a higher level of homogeneity and rigor among studies regarding their methodology and reporting of adherence would facilitate future reviews and meta-analyses.

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“…An Intervention for Loneliness +Connect (5) was created as a 6-week digital intervention program with the goal of a) targeting loneliness by improving relationship quality among young adults with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and b) extending past research (6,7). The pilot intervention employs a positive psychology approach to help young adults identify their strengths, increase their positive affect, and focus on building intimacy within existing relationships.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commentary: A Pilot Digital Intervention Targeting Loneliness in Youth Mental Health

Allen

2020

Front. Psychiatry

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A pilot digital intervention targeting loneliness in young people with psychosis

Cited by 66 publications

References 65 publications

The effectiveness of interventions for reducing subjective and objective social isolation among people with mental health problems: a systematic review

The effectiveness of interventions for reducing subjective and objective social isolation among people with mental health problems: a systematic review

Smartphone-Based Self-Monitoring, Treatment, and Automatically Generated Data in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Psychiatric Disorders: Systematic Review

Commentary: A Pilot Digital Intervention Targeting Loneliness in Youth Mental Health

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