Development of “LvL UP”, a smartphone-based, conversational agent-delivered holistic lifestyle intervention for the prevention of non-communicable diseases and common mental disorders

Castro, Óscar

doi:10.31219/osf.io/k5cnm

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 121 publications

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“…The present findings indicate the need for further psychological and psychiatric interventions, as well as future research. One promising avenue for intervention is digital mental health interventions, which have the potential to reach large numbers of individuals in their daily lives ( 34 , 35 ). These interventions can be scalable and used for screening and identifying those individuals who may require additional human support ( 36 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Six months into the war: a first-wave study of stress, anxiety, and depression among in Ukraine

et al. 2023

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ObjectiveThis study examines the prevalence and predictors of mental health issues, specifically anxiety, depression, and stress, among Ukrainians during the military conflict with Russia.MethodA cross-sectional correlational study was conducted six months after the beginning of the conflict. Sociodemographic factors, traumatic experiences, anxiety, depression, and stress were assessed. The study included 706 participants, both men and women, from different age groups and living in various regions of Ukraine. The data were collected from August till October 2022.ResultsThe study found that a large portion of the Ukrainian population shows increased levels of anxiety, depression, and stress due to the war. Women were found to be more vulnerable to mental health issues than men, and younger people were found to be more resilient. Worsened financial and employment statuses predicted increased anxiety. Ukrainians who fled the conflict to other countries exhibited higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. Direct exposure to trauma predicted increased anxiety and depression, while war-related exposure to “other stressful events” predicted increased acute stress levels.ConclusionThe findings of this study highlight the importance of addressing the mental health needs of Ukrainians affected by the ongoing conflict. Interventions and support should be tailored to address the specific needs of different groups, particularly women, younger individuals, and those with worsened financial and employment statuses.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Six months into the war: a first-wave study of stress, anxiety, and depression among in Ukraine

et al. 2023

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“…Focus groups were conducted during July and August 2021 as part of a wider research project aimed at developing and evaluating a new smartphone-delivered lifestyle intervention for the prevention of NCDs and CMDs in Singapore [ 35 ]. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Boards of the National University of Singapore (NUS-IRB-2021-232) and ETH Zurich (EK-2021-N-30).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In line with recommendations [ 31 , 32 ], this focus group study recruited potential end-users of a new smartphone-delivered lifestyle intervention to inform the first phases of the development process [ 35 ]. Our intended target end-users are middle-aged adults who have a higher risk of developing NCDs than younger adults and may be identified as such through the national health screening programme in Singapore [ 37 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the potential of mobile health interventions to address behavioural risk factors for the prevention of non-communicable diseases in Asian populations: a qualitative study

Mair

Castro²,

Salamanca-Sanabria³

et al. 2023

BMC Public Health

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Background Changing lifestyle patterns over the last decades have seen growing numbers of people in Asia affected by non-communicable diseases and common mental health disorders, including diabetes, cancer, and/or depression. Interventions targeting healthy lifestyle behaviours through mobile technologies, including new approaches such as chatbots, may be an effective, low-cost approach to prevent these conditions. To ensure uptake and engagement with mobile health interventions, however, it is essential to understand the end-users’ perspectives on using such interventions. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions, barriers, and facilitators to the use of mobile health interventions for lifestyle behaviour change in Singapore. Methods Six virtual focus group discussions were conducted with a total of 34 participants (mean ± SD; aged 45 ± 3.6 years; 64.7% females). Focus group recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach, followed by deductive mapping according to perceptions, barriers, facilitators, mixed factors, or strategies. Results Five themes were identified: (i) holistic wellbeing is central to healthy living (i.e., the importance of both physical and mental health); (ii) encouraging uptake of a mobile health intervention is influenced by factors such as incentives and government backing; (iii) trying out a mobile health intervention is one thing, sticking to it long term is another and there are key factors, such as personalisation and ease of use that influence sustained engagement with mobile health interventions; (iv) perceptions of chatbots as a tool to support healthy lifestyle behaviour are influenced by previous negative experiences with chatbots, which might hamper uptake; and (v) sharing health-related data is OK, but with conditions such as clarity on who will have access to the data, how it will be stored, and for what purpose it will be used. Conclusions Findings highlight several factors that are relevant for the development and implementation of mobile health interventions in Singapore and other Asian countries. Recommendations include: (i) targeting holistic wellbeing, (ii) tailoring content to address environment-specific barriers, (iii) partnering with government and/or local (non-profit) institutions in the development and/or promotion of mobile health interventions, (iv) managing expectations regarding the use of incentives, and (iv) identifying potential alternatives or complementary approaches to the use of chatbots, particularly for mental health.

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“…Despite all these limitations, the data of this work is an important building block to inform the design of scalable (digital) public health interventions for individuals living in crises that explicitly target mental health ( 54 , 55 ).…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides, the cross-sectional study design implies that data are collected at a single moment in time, whereas data collection for this study lasted for almost 4 months. Despite all these limitations, the data of this work is an important building block to inform the design of scalable (digital) public health interventions for individuals living in crises that explicitly target mental health (54,55).…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mental health impact of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war 6 months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Kurapov¹,

Kalaitzaki²,

Keller³

et al. 2023

Front. Psychiatry

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ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine on the mental health of Ukrainians, focusing on war-induced trauma, disturbances in self-organization, post-traumatic stress disorder, complex post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, stress, and depression.MethodsData was collected from 703 participants 6 months after the full-scale invasion using a structured questionnaire that included sections on socio-demographic information, trauma-related issues, and mental health.ResultsThe study found that levels of depression and anxiety were relatively low, while stress and resilience were relatively high among Ukrainians affected by the war. However, those who were directly exposed to military actions, physical violence, or severe human suffering had higher levels of anxiety, depression, stress, and trauma-related symptoms. The war experience varied by gender, age, and living conditions. Participants who stayed in Ukraine had significantly lower anxiety, depression, stress, and trauma-related symptoms compared to those who moved abroad. Anxiety, depression, stress, low resilience, and subjective satisfaction with living conditions were predictors of trauma-related symptoms, including PTSD and CPTSD.ConclusionThese findings suggest that the mental health of Ukrainians affected by the war was impacted differently depending on their level of exposure to violence and their living conditions. Additionally, the study identified several predictors of trauma-related symptoms, including PTSD and CPTSD, such as anxiety, depression, stress, low resilience, and subjective satisfaction with living conditions. Future research should further explore the relationships between trauma type, sociodemographic factors, resilience, stress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD and CPTSD to better understand the mediation mechanisms underlying these relationships and to develop effective interventions to support the well-being of Ukrainians during this difficult time.

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Development of “LvL UP”, a smartphone-based, conversational agent-delivered holistic lifestyle intervention for the prevention of non-communicable diseases and common mental disorders

Cited by 3 publications

References 121 publications

Six months into the war: a first-wave study of stress, anxiety, and depression among in Ukraine

Six months into the war: a first-wave study of stress, anxiety, and depression among in Ukraine

Exploring the potential of mobile health interventions to address behavioural risk factors for the prevention of non-communicable diseases in Asian populations: a qualitative study

The mental health impact of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war 6 months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine

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