Clinician characteristics and perceptions related to use of the PE (prolonged exposure) coach mobile app.

Abstract

Using smartphones in the provision of evidence-based psychotherapy holds tremendous potential for enhancing care. Mental health clinicians' perceptions of smartphone-delivered interventions will affect their decision to adopt these promising innovations. As a follow-up to our early study (Kuhn et al., 2014), here we investigated mental health clinicians' (N ϭ 271) use of a patient-facing smartphone app for prolonged exposure (PE) therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder, called PE Coach. A Web-based survey assessed clinicians' perceptions of the app using diffusion of innovations constructs. Half of the sample practicing PE in the past year reported using PE Coach, with 93.6% intending to continue using it. For clinicians who did not use PE Coach, 77.6% intended to use it in the future. Perceptions of PE Coach were generally favorable regarding its relative advantage over current practices, compatibility with clinicians' values and needs, complexity, trialability, and observability. Younger clinicians (Ͻ40 years) had more favorable perceptions of the app's perceived complexity than did older clinicians (Ն40 years). Clinicians owning smartphones, relative to those not, had more favorable perceptions of compatibility, complexity, and trialability. PE Coach users, relative to nonusers, had more favorable perceptions across This article was published Online First November 2, 2015.

‘Help for trauma from the app stores?’ A systematic review and standardised rating of apps for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

“…One RCT evaluated the web-version of the 'VetChange' app (Brief et al, 2013). For two apps ('PE coach' and 'PTSD Family Coach'), we identified user experience studies (Kuhn et al, 2015;Owen et al, 2017;Reger, Skopp, Edwards-Stewart, & Lemus, 2015). Table 2 displays the results from the MARS-G rating.…”

Proposing a standardized, step-by-step model for creating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related mobile mental health apps in a framework based on technical and medical norms

“…The first necessary step in creating an mMHealth app is to define its goals according to the needs of the target population. This includes, for example, the decision whether the primary purpose of the app is assessment like 'Smart Assessment on your Mobile' ("SAM", van der Meer et al, 2017), symptom tracking and selfmanagement of symptoms like the SPIRIT app (Bauer et al, 2017) and PTSD Coach (Kuhn et al, 2014), treatment as the CBTi Coach (Kuhn et al, 2016), or treatment assistance like PE Coach (Kuhn et al, 2015), or a combination of those, each resulting in radically different medical and technical requirements for the app. Ideally, this step is informed by previous research into how to convert the usual methods of assessment, tracking and treatment into their digital counterparts effectively.…”

“…Pilot studies on how the end users (e.g., clinicians and patients) are interacting with the app seem promising (Cernvall, Sveen, Bergh Johannesson, & Arnberg, 2018; Rodriguez-Paras et al, 2017). Kuhn and colleagues focused on subjective perceptions, such as user satisfaction and helpfulness (Kuhn et al, 2014) while Owen and colleagues expanded more on objective user engagement and common points of attrition in using the app (Owen et al, 2015). As mentioned earlier, first validation studies were also carried out to ensure that the PTSD-related apps' purpose and specifications are met (Rodriguez-Paras et al, 2017).…”

“…Post-market communication (PMC) is an important part of the life cycle of every serious app, among other things, involves keeping an overview over the number of downloaded apps and their subsequent reviews and feedback by the users, as well as employing this information to update the product (e.g., Owen et al, 2015). Thus, it consists of software maintenance, bug fixing and user support.…”

Constructing the (Healthy) Neoliberal Citizen: Using the Walkthrough Method “Do” Critical Health Communication Research

“…However, it has been argued that these devices can significantly enhance therapeutic outcomes by increasing exposure to treatments as well as reducing the demands on clinician time (Boschen and Casey, 2008). Additionally, the use of smartphone apps for the self-management and monitoring of mental health has been found to be generally favorable by both research participants (Reid et al, 2011) and providers (Kuhn et al, 2015;Miller et al, 2019a,b).…”