Value in Optimizing the Components of App Interventions Before Final Testing

Abstract

Intensive care unit survivors are at increased risk of psychological distress, but few scalable interventions have been found effective. Interventions in behavioral health often have multiple components that may include how it is introduced, how often it is used, and how to respond when persons are worsening. A challenge in developing and testing these interventions is determining which aspects of the intervention are most useful.Cox et al 1 used a multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) methodological framework to assess which components of a mindfulness application (app) would be effective in reducing distress. Distress was based on the Patient Health Questionnaire. They found that twice-daily mindfulness training was