Learnings from user feedback of a novel digital mental health assessment

Funnell, Erin; Spadaro, Benedetta; Benacek, Jiri; Martin-Key, Nayra A; Metcalfe, Tim; Olmert, Tony; Barton‐Owen, Giles; Bahn, Sabine

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1018095

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 95 publications

(117 reference statements)

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“…As clinical trials using digital technology continue, it will be important to consider the conditions for optimal implementation in clinical practice [55,56]. Specifically, it will be critical to consider the involvement and engagement of healthcare personnel, as a care line in the deployment of such technology [57][58][59][60][61]. These changes will facilitate technology development, implementation, and assessment of mental health.…”

Section: Treatment Adherence and App Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the FOCUS ADHD App in monitoring adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Carvalho,

Haas,

Zeni

et al. 2023

Eur. Psychiatr.

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Background The current investigation assessed a) the performance of the FOCUS ADHD mobile health application (App) in increasing pharmacological treatment adherence and improving patients’ knowledge of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and b) the impact of implementing a financial incentive for using the App (i.e., a discount on medication). Methods In a randomized, blind, parallel-group clinical trial, 73 adults diagnosed with ADHD were allocated into three groups for 3 months: a) Pharmacological treatment as usual (TAU); b) TAU and the App (App Group); and c) TAU and the App + a commercial discount on the purchase of medication prescribed for ADHD treatment (App + Discount Group). Results There was no significant difference in mean treatment adherence between groups, assessed as a medication possession ratio (MPR). However, the App + Discount Group exhibited greater medication intake registrations compared with the App Group during the initial phase of the trial. The financial discount also produced a 100% App adoption rate. App use did not increase ADHD knowledge, though knowledge scores were high at baseline. The usability and quality of the App were rated favorably. Conclusions The FOCUS ADHD App achieved a high adoption rate and positive evaluations by users. Use of the App did not increase adherence to treatment as measured by MPR, but, for App users, the addition of a financial incentive to use the App produced an increase in treatment adherence in terms of medication intake registrations. The present results offer encouraging data for combining incentives with mobile digital health solutions to positively impact treatment adherence in ADHD.

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Section: Treatment Adherence and App Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the FOCUS ADHD App in monitoring adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Carvalho,

Haas,

Zeni

et al. 2023

Eur. Psychiatr.

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Perception of Apps for Mental Health Assessment With Recommendations for Future Design: United Kingdom Semistructured Interview Study

Funnell,

Spadaro,

Martin-Key

et al. 2024

JMIR Form Res

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Background Mental health care provision in the United Kingdom is overwhelmed by a high demand for services. There are high rates of under-, over-, and misdiagnosis of common mental health disorders in primary care and delays in accessing secondary care. This negatively affects patient functioning and outcomes. Digital tools may offer a time-efficient avenue for the remote assessment and triage of mental health disorders that can be integrated directly into existing care pathways to support clinicians. However, despite the potential of digital tools in the field of mental health, there remain gaps in our understanding of how the intended user base, people with lived experiences of mental health concerns, perceive these technologies. Objective This study explores the perspectives and attitudes of individuals with lived experiences of mental health concerns on mental health apps that are designed to support self-assessment and triage. Methods A semistructured interview approach was used to explore the perspectives of the interviewees using 5 open-ended questions. Interviews were transcribed verbatim from audio data recordings. The average interview lasted 46 minutes (rounded to the nearest min; SD 12.93 min). A thematic analysis was conducted. Results Overall, 16 individuals were interviewed in this study. The average age was 42.25 (SD 15.18) years, half of the interviewees identified as women (8/16, 50%), and all were White (16/16, 100%). The thematic analysis revealed six major themes: (1) availability and accessibility, (2) quality, (3) attitudes, (4) safety, (5) impact, and (6) functionality. Conclusions Engaging in clear communication regarding data security and privacy policies, adopting a consent-driven approach to data sharing, and identifying gaps in the app marketplace to foster the inclusion of a range of mental health conditions and avoid oversaturation of apps for common mental health disorders (eg, depression and anxiety) were identified as priorities from interviewees’ comments. Furthermore, reputation was identified as a driver of uptake and engagement, with endorsement from a respected source (ie, health care provider, academic institution) or direct recommendation from a trusted health care professional associated with increased interest and trust. Furthermore, there was an interest in the role that co-designed digital self-assessments could play in existing care pathways, particularly in terms of facilitating informed discussions with health care professionals during appointments and by signposting individuals to the most appropriate services. In addition, interviewees discussed the potential of mental health apps to provide waiting list support to individuals awaiting treatment by providing personalized psychoeducation, self-help tips, and sources of help. However, concerns regarding the quality of care being affected because of digital delivery have been reported; therefore, frequent monitoring of patient acceptability and care outcomes is warranted. In addition, communicating the rationale and benefits of digitizing services will likely be important for securing interest and uptake from health care service users.

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Perception of Apps for Mental Health Assessment With Recommendations for Future Design: United Kingdom Semistructured Interview Study (Preprint)

Funnell¹,

Spadaro²,

Martin-Key³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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BACKGROUND Mental health care provision in the UK is overwhelmed, with high demand for services. There are also high rates of under-, over-, and misdiagnosis of common mental health disorders in primary care and delays to accessing secondary care. This negatively impacts on patient functioning and outcomes. Digital tools may offer a time-efficient avenue for remote assessment and triage of mental health disorders which can be integrated directly into existing care pathways to support clinicians. However, despite the potential of digital tools for mental health there remain gaps in our understanding of how the intended userbase, people with lived experienced of mental health concerns, perceive these technologies. OBJECTIVE To explore the perspectives and attitudes of individuals with lived experience of mental health concerns on mental health apps that are designed to support self-assessment and triage. METHODS A semi-structured interview approach was employed, exploring perspectives of interviewees using five open-ended questions. Interviews were transcribed verbatim from audio data recordings. The average interview lasted 46 minutes (rounded to the nearest minute; SD=12.93 minutes). Thematic analysis (TA) was conducted. RESULTS A total of 16 individuals were interviewed in the current study. The average age was 42.25 (SD=15.18), half the interviewees were female (50%, n=8), and all were white (100%, n=16). TA revealed six major themes: (1) availability and accessibility, (2) quality, (3) attitudes, (4) safety, (5) impact and (6) functionality. CONCLUSIONS Engaging in clear communication regarding data security and privacy policies, adopting a consent-driven approach to data sharing, and identifying gaps in the app marketplace to foster inclusion of a range of mental health conditions and avoid oversaturation of apps for common mental health disorders (eg, depression and anxiety) were identified as priorities from interviewee comments. Additionally, reputation was identified as a driver to uptake and engagement, with endorsement from a respected source (ie, health care provider, academic institution) or direct recommendation from a trusted health care professional associated with increased interest and trust. Furthermore, there was interest in the role apps could play in existing care pathways, particularly in terms of utilizing a results report from a digital self-assessment in facilitating informed discussions with health care professionals during appointments, and by signposting individuals to the most appropriate services. Additionally, interviewees discussed the potential for mental health apps to provide waiting list support to individuals awaiting treatment by providing personalized psychoeducation, self-help tips, and sources of help to support self-care and management.

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Learnings from user feedback of a novel digital mental health assessment

Cited by 3 publications

References 95 publications

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the FOCUS ADHD App in monitoring adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the FOCUS ADHD App in monitoring adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Perception of Apps for Mental Health Assessment With Recommendations for Future Design: United Kingdom Semistructured Interview Study

Perception of Apps for Mental Health Assessment With Recommendations for Future Design: United Kingdom Semistructured Interview Study (Preprint)

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