The effect of depression and anxiety symptom severity on clinical outcomes and app use in digital mental health treatments: Meta-regression of three trials

A large number of trials have consistently shown that guided digital mental health treatments (DMHTs) are effective for depression and anxiety. As DMHTs are adopted by healthcare organizations, payers, and employers, they are often considered most appropriate for people with mild-to-moderate levels of symptom severity. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of symptom severity on depression and anxiety outcomes and app use across three trials of a guided DMHT, IntelliCare. Participants were categorized into mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe symptom severity groups on depression and anxiety. All symptom severity groups showed significant reductions in depression and anxiety in a clear ordinal pattern, with the mild symptom severity group showing the smallest changes and the severe symptom group showing the largest improvements. Those with the lowest levels of educational attainment showed the largest symptom improvement. Baseline symptom severity was not significantly related to app use. App use was significantly related to depression and anxiety outcomes. These findings suggest that depression and anxiety symptom severity is not useful in determining who should be referred to a guided DMHT.

Translating Family-Based Behavioral Treatment for Childhood Obesity into a User-Friendly Digital Package for Delivery to Low-Income Families through Primary Care Partnerships: The MO-CORD Study

Background: Significant gaps exist in access to evidence-based pediatric weight management interventions, especially for low-income families. As a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration project 3.0 (CORD), the Missouri CORD (MO-CORD) team aims to increase access to and dissemination of an efficacious pediatric obesity treatment, family-based behavioral treatment (FBT), among low-income families. This article describes the MO-CORD team's approach to translating FBT into a digital package for delivery to low-income families through primary care practices. Methods: Using digital technology, the primary care setting, and existing reimbursement mechanisms, the MO-CORD team is developing a scalable user-centered design informed treatment package of FBT. This package will be implemented in primary care clinics and delivered to children (5-12 years) with obesity from low-income households in rural and urban communities. The digital platform includes three main components: (1) provider and interventionist training, (2) interventionist-facing materials, and (3) family-facing treatment materials. User-centered design techniques and continuous iterative stakeholder feedback are utilized to emphasize tailoring to a low-income population, along with scalability and sustainability of the digital package. Conclusions: The MO-CORD project addresses the critical need to increase access to obesity treatment for children from low-income households and establishes a platform for future large-scale (i.e., nation-wide) dissemination of evidence-based pediatric weight-management interventions. This study determines whether the digital FBT package can be implemented within real-world settings to create a system by which children with obesity and their families can be effectively treated in primary care settings.

Implementation of a Scalable Family-Based Behavioral Treatment for Childhood Obesity Delivered through Primary Care Clinics: Description of the Missouri Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Study Protocol

Background: Significant gaps exist in access to evidence-based pediatric weight management interventions, especially for low-income families who are disproportionately affected by obesity. As a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration project (CORD 3.0), the Missouri team (MO-CORD) aims to increase access to and dissemination of an efficacious pediatric obesity treatment, specifically family-based behavioral treatment (FBT), for low-income families. Methods/Design: The implementation pilot study is a multisite matched-comparison group pilot of packaged FBT in pediatric clinics for low-income children with obesity, of ages 5 to 12 years old. The study is implemented in two Missouri pediatric primary care clinical sites, Freeman Health System Pediatric Clinics (rural Joplin) and Children's Mercy Hospital Pediatric Clinics (urban Kansas City). The design focuses on pragmatism through utilization of PRECIS (Pragmatic Explanatory Continuum Indicator Summary) domains, such as open eligibility criteria, limited follow-up intensity, reliance on medical records for creating a usual care comparison group data, and unobtrusive measurement of participant and provider adherence. The evaluation focuses on effectiveness as well as implementation outcomes and barriers to inform implementation scale up. Conclusions: Findings from this study will advance both science and practice by providing novel and immediately useful information to families, health care providers, health care organizations, payers, and other state Medicaid plans by developing and optimizing evidence-based pediatric weight management treatment for implementation and dissemination in health systems to address health disparities among low-income populations most affected by overweight and obesity.

Targeting subjective engagement in experimental therapeutics for digital mental health interventions

Engagement is a multifaceted construct and a likely mechanism by which digital interventions achieve clinical improvements. To date, clinical research on digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) has overwhelmingly defined engagement and assessed its association with clinical outcomes through the objective/behavioral metrics of use of or interactions with a DMHI, such as number of log-ins or time spent using the technology. However, engagement also entails users' subjective experience. Research is largely lacking that tests the relationship between subjective metrics of engagement and clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study is to present a proof-of-concept exploratory evaluation of the association between subjective engagement measures of a mobile DMHI with changes in depression and anxiety. Adult primary care patients (N = 146) who screened positive for depression or anxiety were randomized to receive a DMHI, IntelliCare, immediately or following an 8-week waitlist. Subjective engagement was measured via the Usefulness, Satisfaction, and Ease of Use (USE) Questionnaire. Across both conditions, results showed that individuals who perceived a mobile intervention as more useful, easy to use and learn, and satisfying had greater improvements in depression and anxiety over eight weeks. Findings support our proposed experimental therapeutics framework that hypothesizes objective/behavioral and subjective engagement metrics as mechanisms that lead to changes in clinical outcomes, as well as support directing intervention design efforts for DMHIs to target the user experience.

Lessons learned from service design of a trial of a digital mental health service: Informing implementation in primary care clinics

Implementing a digital mental health service in primary care requires integration into clinic workflow. However, without adequate attention to service design, including designing referral pathways to identify and engage patients, implementation will fail. This article reports results from our efforts designing referral pathways for a randomized clinical trial evaluating a digital service for depression and anxiety delivered through primary care clinics. We utilized three referral pathways: direct to consumer (e.g., digital and print media, registry emails), provider referral (i.e., electronic health record [EHR] order and provider recommendation), and other approaches (e.g., presentations, word of mouth). Over the 5-month enrollment, 313 individuals completed the screen and reported how they learned about the study. Penetration was 13%, and direct to consumer techniques, most commonly email, had the highest yield. Providers only referred 16 patients through the EHR, half of whom initiated the screen. There were no differences in referral pathway based on participants' age, depression severity, or anxiety severity at screening. Ongoing discussions with providers revealed that the technologic implementation and workflow design may not have been optimal to fully affect the EHR-based referral process, which potentially limited patient access. Results highlight the importance of designing and evaluating referral pathways within service implementation, which is important for guiding the implementation of digital services into practice. Doing so can ensure that sustained implementation is not left to post-evaluation bridge-building. Future efforts should assess these and other referral pathways implemented in clinical practice outside of a research trial.

Current state of scientific evidence on Internet-based interventions for the treatment of depression, anxiety, eating disorders and substance abuse: an overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

BACKGROUND

ICare represents a consortium of European Investigators examining the effects of online mental health care for a variety of common mental health disorders provided in a variety of settings. This article provides an overview of the evidence of effectiveness for Internet-based treatment for four common mental health disorders that are the focus of much of this work: depression, anxiety, substance abuse and eating disorders.

METHODS

The overview focused primarily on systematic reviews and meta-analyses identified through PubMed (Ovid) and other databases and published in English. Given the large number of reviews specific to depression, anxiety, substance abuse and/or eating disorders, we did not focus on reviews that examined the effects of Internet-based interventions on mental health disorders in general. Each article was reviewed and summarized by one of the senior authors, and this review was then reviewed by the other senior authors. We did not address issues of prevention, cost-effectiveness, implementation or dissemination, as these are addressed in other reviews in this supplement.

RESULTS

Across Internet-based intervention studies addressing depression, anxiety, substance abuse and eating disorders primarily among adults, almost all reviews and meta-analyses found that these interventions successfully reduce symptoms and are efficacious treatments. Generally, effect sizes for Internet-based interventions treating eating disorders and substance abuse are lower compared with interventions for depression and anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the effectiveness of Internet-based interventions to reduce symptoms of these common mental health disorders, efforts are needed to examine issues of how they can be best disseminated and implemented in a variety of health care and other settings.

Perceived Facilitators and Barriers to Engaging with a Digital Intervention among Those with Food Insecurity, Binge Eating, and Obesity

Interventions that address binge eating and food insecurity are needed. Engaging people with lived experience to understand their needs and preferences could yield important design considerations for such interventions. In this study, people with food insecurity, recurrent binge eating, and obesity completed an interview-based needs assessment to learn facilitators and barriers that they perceive would impact their engagement with a digital intervention for managing binge eating and weight. Twenty adults completed semi-structured interviews. Responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three themes emerged. Participants shared considerations that impact their ability to access the intervention (e.g., cost of intervention, cost of technology, accessibility across devices), ability to complete intervention recommendations (e.g., affordable healthy meals, education to help stretch groceries, food vouchers, rides to grocery stores, personalized to budget), and preferred intervention features for education, self-monitoring, personalization, support, and motivation/rewards. Engaging people with lived experiences via user-centered design methods revealed important design considerations for a digital intervention to meet this population's needs. Future research is needed to test whether a digital intervention that incorporates these recommendations is engaging and effective for people with binge eating and food insecurity. Findings may have relevance to designing digital interventions for other health problems as well.

Applying User-Centered Design Methods to Understand Users' Day-to-Day Experiences Can Inform a Mobile Intervention for Binge Eating and Weight Management

Introduction: Weight loss apps to date have not directly addressed binge eating. To inform the design of a new mobile behavioral intervention that addresses binge eating and weight management, we applied user-centered design methods to qualitatively assess how target intervention consumers experience these conditions in their day-to-day lives. Methods: The participants were 22 adults with self-reported obesity (body mass index ≥30) and recurrent binge eating (≥12 episodes in 3 months) who were interested in losing weight and reducing binge eating. The participants completed a digital diary study, which is a user-centered design technique for capturing individuals' day-to-day experiences in relevant contexts. Qualitative data describing the participants' experiences with binge eating and obesity were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results were then used to create personas (i.e., character archetypes of different intervention consumers). Results: The participants described triggers for binge eating and indicated that binge eating and excess weight negatively impact their mental health, physical health, and quality of life. The resulting personas reflected five different struggles individuals with these health problems experience in managing their binge eating and weight. Conclusions: Individuals with binge eating and obesity have varying precipitants of problematic eating as well as varying motivations for and challenges to behavior change. To meet the needs of all who seek intervention, an ideal intervention design will account for variations in these factors and be relevant to diverse experiences. Insights from the diary study and resulting personas will inform the next phases of the user-centered design process of iteratively designing prototypes and testing the intervention in practice.

Brain-gut psychotherapies: Promising tools to address gastrointestinal problems in patients with eating disorders

Gastrointestinal (GI) problems are common in individuals with eating disorders (EDs) and associated with distress, impairment, and increased healthcare utilization. GI symptoms may be exacerbated by meals and other interventions central to ED recovery thereby contributing to negative clinical outcomes. Informed by models emphasizing the role of the brain-gut axis in the expression of GI symptoms, this article describes a program of research to adapt "brain-gut psychotherapies" for EDs. First, the role of the brain-gut axis in GI symptoms is described, and evidence-based brain-gut psychotherapies are reviewed, with an emphasis on cognitive behavioral therapy for GI disorders and gut-directed hypnotherapy. Next, future directions for research in EDs to (a) understand the impact of GI symptoms on illness course and outcome; (b) clarify target engagement; (c) evaluate brain-gut psychotherapies; and (d) optimize intervention reach and delivery are described. We present a conceptual model that emphasizes GI-specific anxiety and altered gut physiology as targets of brain-gut psychotherapies in EDs, and discuss several issues that need to be addressed in designing clinical trials to test these interventions. We also describe how engagement with multidisciplinary stakeholders and use of digital tools could speed translation from the laboratory to clinical settings.

Integrating User-Centered Design and Behavioral Science to Design a Mobile Intervention for Obesity and Binge Eating: Mixed Methods Analysis

Background

Accounting for how end users engage with technologies is imperative for designing an efficacious mobile behavioral intervention.

Objective

This mixed methods analysis examined the translational potential of user-centered design and basic behavioral science to inform the design of a new mobile intervention for obesity and binge eating.

Methods

A total of 22 adults (7/22, 32% non-Hispanic White; 8/22, 36% male) with self-reported obesity and recurrent binge eating (≥12 episodes in 3 months) who were interested in losing weight and reducing binge eating completed a prototyping design activity over 1 week. Leveraging evidence from behavioral economics on choice architecture, participants chose treatment strategies from 20 options (aligned with treatment targets composing a theoretical model of the relation between binge eating and weight) to demonstrate which strategies and treatment targets are relevant to end users. The process by which participants selected and implemented strategies and their change in outcomes were analyzed.

Results

Although prompted to select one strategy, participants selected between 1 and 3 strategies, citing perceived achievability, helpfulness, or relevance as selection reasons. Over the week, all practiced a strategy at least once; 82% (18/22) struggled with implementation, and 23% (5/22) added a new strategy. Several themes emerged on successes and challenges with implementation, yielding design implications for supporting users in behavior change. In postexperiment reflections, 82% (18/22) indicated the strategy was helpful, and 86% (19/22) planned to continue use. One-week average within-subject changes in weight (–2.2 [SD –5.0] pounds) and binge eating (–1.6 [SD –1.8] episodes) indicated small clinical improvement.

Conclusions

Applying user-centered design and basic behavioral science yielded design insights to incorporate personalization through user choice with guidance, which may enhance engagement with and potential efficacy of digital health interventions.

Harnessing mobile technology to reduce mental health disorders in college populations: A randomized controlled trial study protocol

About a third of college students struggle with anxiety, depression, or an eating disorder, and only 20-40% of college students with mental disorders receive treatment. Inadequacies in mental health care delivery result in prolonged illness, disease progression, poorer prognosis, and greater likelihood of relapse, highlighting the need for a new approach to detect mental health problems and engage college students in services. We have developed a transdiagnostic, low-cost mobile mental health targeted prevention and intervention platform that uses population-level screening to engage college students in tailored services that address common mental health problems. We will test the impact of this mobile mental health platform for service delivery in a large-scale trial across 20+ colleges. Students who screen positive or at high-risk for clinical anxiety, depression, or an eating disorder and who are not currently engaged in mental health services (N = 7884) will be randomly assigned to: 1) intervention via the mobile mental health platform; or 2) referral to usual care (i.e., campus health or counseling center). We will test whether the mobile mental health platform, compared to referral, is associated with improved uptake, reduced clinical cases, disorder-specific symptoms, and improved quality of life and functioning. We will also test mediators, predictors, and moderators of improved mental health outcomes, as well as stakeholder-relevant outcomes, including cost-effectiveness and academic performance. This population-level approach to service engagement has the potential to improve mental health outcomes for the millions of students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities.

Overweight and obesity are associated with increased eating disorder correlates and general psychopathology in university women with eating disorders

OBJECTIVE

Examine how eating disorder (ED) correlates, ED-related clinical impairment, general psychopathology, and ED diagnoses differ across weight statuses in a sample of university women with EDs.

METHOD

Participants were 690 women from 28 U.S. universities who screened positive for an ED (with the exception of anorexia nervosa [AN]) and participated in the Healthy Body Image Program study. ED correlates, ED-related clinical impairment, general psychopathology (i.e., depression and anxiety), and ED diagnoses were compared across weight statuses (i.e., healthy weight, overweight, obesity) using analyses of variance and chi-square tests.

RESULTS

Women with EDs and overweight or obesity had higher levels of, perceived benefit of thinness, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and weight/shape concerns (obesity only) than those with healthy weight (ps ≤ .017). Compared to those with healthy weight, those with obesity had higher rates of clinical and sub-clinical binge eating disorder and lower rates of bulimia nervosa (p < .001).

DISCUSSION

Overweight and obesity in individuals with EDs, excluding AN, are associated with greater severity of ED correlates, ED-related clinical impairment, and co-morbid general psychopathology. The current study highlights the need to consider weight status in ED treatment and for optimization of ED treatments to address shared risk factors between EDs and overweight and obesity.

Systematic review of digital and non-digital non-pharmacological interventions that target quality of life and psychological outcomes in adults with systemic lupus erythematosus

BACKGROUND

Patients with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) experience psychological comorbidities and impaired quality of life (QOL). We conducted a systematic review to examine the efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions for improving psychological outcomes and/or QOL in patients with SLE. To expand on a previous systematic review in this area and enhance our understanding of efficacious interventions for this population, our search included quasi-experimental and experimental studies of interventions delivered or supported by remote methods (including digitally) or in person.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was conducted with a research librarian using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and was registered before data extraction on the international prospective register of systematic reviews PROSPERO Web site (CRD42020154962). The search included controlled-vocabulary and title/abstract terms related to non-pharmacological interventions for SLE published through October 2019 in MEDLINE (Ovid), Cochrane Library databases (Wiley), Embase (Elsevier), CINAHL (EBSCO), PsycINFO (EBSCO), Web of Science (Clarivate), ACM Digital (Association of Computer Machinery), and IEEE Xplore. Studies were synthesized using a systematic narrative synthesis framework. Risk of bias was assessed.

RESULTS

Twenty-three studies were included: 21 randomized controlled trials and two quasi-experimental studies. Non-pharmacological diet, physical activity, psychological, and course-based interventions improved QOL and psychological outcomes, and were delivered in traditional settings (e.g., hospital) or remotely. No studies assessing digital non-pharmacological interventions were identified in our search. Quality assessments showed serious risk of bias for the two quasi-experimental studies, and high risk of bias in a subset of experimental studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-pharmacological interventions benefit patients with SLE. Future research should include more representative samples in rigorous evaluations and consider ways to incorporate digital technologies to increase accessibility.

Implementation intentions for weight loss in college students with overweight and obesity: a proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial

One in three college students have overweight or obesity and are in need of brief, simple weight loss interventions. Implementation intentions, a strategy that connects a goal-aligned behavior to a cue, facilitate goal attainment of health behaviors but have not been applied as a standalone treatment for weight loss. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of an implementation intention weight loss intervention in college students. In this three-arm, proof-of-concept, randomized controlled trial, college students with overweight/obesity (N = 95) were randomized to one of three conditions: an implementation intention group (IMP), an enhanced implementation intention group (IMP+) that included text message reminders and fluency training (i.e., training for speed and accuracy), and a control goal intention group (GOL) for 4 weeks. Participants completed anthropometric and self-report assessments pretreatment and posttreatment and experience-sampling assessments during the study to assess how implementation intentions contribute to behavior change. Across the sample, IMP and IMP+ groups reported significantly more goal-congruent behaviors than the GOL group. However, no between-condition differences emerged for weight and diet outcomes. Across conditions, students lost a statistically significant amount of weight, improved diet quality, and reduced caloric intake (ps < .05). Setting implementation intentions was associated with increased behaviors consistent with weight loss goals. Moreover, participants in all groups lost a statistically significant amount of weight. Incorporating implementation intentions into weight loss interventions, and testing the efficacy of this approach on weight loss over a longer duration, may be beneficial for college students with overweight/obesity.

An Exploratory Brief Head-To-Head Non-Inferiority Comparison of an Internet-Based and a Telephone-Delivered CBT Intervention for Adults with Depression

BACKGROUND

Telephone-administered psychotherapy (tCBT) and internet-based treatments (iCBT) may overcome barriers to mental health treatment. TCBT has demonstrated efficacy similar to traditional psychotherapy, however, few studies have compared iCBT to efficacious interventions. This exploratory study examined the noninferiority of iCBT relative to tCBT. We also explored pretreatment moderators of outcome and assessed treatment dropout.

METHODS

As a secondary exploratory analysis of a 304-participant randomized noninferiority trial, we compared iCBT, the first level of a stepped-care intervention, with tCBT on depression outcome after 5 weeks of treatment (prior to stepping). Multiple linear regression models were fit to examine moderators of 5-week depression. Differences in dropout were examined using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.

RESULTS

After 5 weeks of treatment, both interventions significantly reduced depression severity. The effect size difference between the two interventions was d=0.004 [90% CI=-0.19 to 0.19]; the CI did not cross the non-inferiority margin. Pretreatment depression was significantly associated with depression at week 5. The relationship between cognitive strategy usefulness and depression at week 5 differed between interventions, controlling for pretreatment depression. There was no significant difference in dropout between interventions.

LIMITATIONS

Given the stepped-care trial design, iCBT and tCBT could not be compared at the end of treatment or follow-up. Analyses were exploratory and should be interpreted with caution.

CONCLUSIONS

A large sample, powered for noninferiority, found iCBT no less efficacious than tCBT at reducing depression symptoms after five weeks of treatment.

Implementation strategies for digital mental health interventions in health care settings

U.S. health care systems are tasked with alleviating the burden of mental health, but are frequently underprepared and lack workforce and resource capacity to deliver services to all in need. Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) can increase access to evidence-based mental health care. However, DMHIs commonly do not fit into the day-to-day activities of the people who engage with them, resulting in a research-to-practice gap for DMHI implementation. For health care settings, differences between digital and traditional mental health services make alignment and integration challenging. Specialized attention is needed to improve the implementation of DMHIs in health care settings so that these services yield high uptake, engagement, and sustainment. The purpose of this article is to enhance efforts to integrate DMHIs in health care settings by proposing implementation strategies, selected and operationalized based on the discrete strategies established in the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change project, that align to DMHI-specific barriers in these settings. Guidance is offered in how these strategies can be applied to DMHI implementation across four phases commonly distinguished in implementation science using the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment Framework. Next steps to advance research in this area and improve the research-to-practice gap for implementing DMHIs are recommended. Applying implementation strategies to DMHI implementation will enable psychologists to systematically evaluate this process, which can yield an enhanced understanding of the factors that facilitate implementation success and improve the translation of DMHIs from controlled trials to real-world settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Coached Mobile App Platform for the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety Among Primary Care Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance

Depression and anxiety are common and disabling. Primary care is the de facto site for treating these mental health problems but is typically underresourced to meet the burden of these demands.

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy of a mobile intervention platform, IntelliCare, for addressing depression and anxiety among primary care patients.

Design, Setting, and Participants

Two-arm randomized clinical trial at internal medicine clinics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Adult primary care patients (N = 146) who screened positive for depression on the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ; score  ≥ 10) or anxiety on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7; score ≥ 8) were recruited between July 17, 2018, and December 14, 2018.

Interventions

The coach-supported platform composed of a suite of apps, was delivered over 8 weeks. Wait list control participants received treatment as usual for 8 weeks, then the mobile platform.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Primary outcomes were changes in depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) during the intervention period. Secondary outcomes were differences in the proportion of patients who achieved recovery (PHQ-9/GAD-7 <5 or 50% improvement from baseline), sustainment of intervention effects during 2-month follow-up, and app use during the intervention period.

Results

One hundred forty-six patients were included (119 of 146 were women [81.5%]; mean [SD] age, 42.3 [13.8] years). Of the 146 patients, 122 (83.6%) were diagnosed as having depression and 131 (89.7%) were diagnosed as having anxiety. A greater proportion of intervention vs wait list control participants achieved recovery from depression (n = 38 of 64 [59%] vs n = 18 of 58 [31%]; odds ratio, 3.25; 95% CI, 1.54-6.86) and anxiety (n = 37 of 65 [57%] vs n = 25 of 66 [38%]; odds ratio, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.08-4.36). Sustained effects were observed for depression (slope, 0.01; 95% CI, -0.09 to 0.10; P = .92) and anxiety scores (slope, 0.02; 95% CI, -0.08 to 0.12; P = .67) during follow-up. App use was high, with a median of 93 and 98 sessions among participants with depression and anxiety, respectively.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this trial, a mobile intervention app was effective for depression and anxiety among primary care patients. Findings also support designing digital mental health interventions as platforms containing simple, brief apps that can be bundled by users to meet their needs.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03500536.

Preliminary data on help-seeking intentions and behaviors of individuals completing a widely available online screen for eating disorders in the United States

OBJECTIVE

Scaling an online screen that provides referrals may be key in closing the treatment gap for eating disorders (EDs), but we need to understand respondents' help-seeking intentions and behaviors after receiving screen results. This study reported on these constructs among respondents to the National Eating Disorders Association online screen who screened positive or at high risk for an ED.

METHOD

Respondents completed the screen over 18 months (February 9, 2018-August 28, 2019). Those screening positive or at high risk for an ED (n = 343,072) had the option to provide data on help-seeking intentions (after screen completion) and behaviors (2-month follow-up).

RESULTS

Of eligible respondents, 4.8% (n = 16,396) provided data on help-seeking intentions, with only 33.7% of those reporting they would seek help. Only 7.6% of eligible respondents opted in to the 2-month follow-up, with 10.6% of those completing it (n = 2,765). Overall, 8.9% of respondents to the follow-up reported being in treatment when they took the screen, 15.5% subsequently initiated treatment, and 75.5% did not initiate/were not already in treatment.

DISCUSSION

Preliminary results suggest that among the small minority who provided data, only one-third expressed help-seeking intentions and 16% initiated treatment. Online screening should consider ways to increase respondents' motivation for and follow-through with care.

Effectiveness of a Digital Cognitive Behavior Therapy-Guided Self-Help Intervention for Eating Disorders in College Women: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance

Eating disorders (EDs) are common, serious psychiatric disorders on college campuses, yet most affected individuals do not receive treatment. Digital interventions have the potential to bridge this gap.

Objective

To determine whether a coached, digital, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) intervention improves outcomes for college women with EDs compared with referral to usual care.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cluster randomized trial was conducted from 2014 to 2018 at 27 US universities. Women with binge-purge EDs (with both threshold and subthreshold presentations) were recruited from enrolled universities. The 690 participants were followed up for up to 2 years after the intervention. Data analysis was performed from February to September 2019.

Interventions

Universities were randomized to the intervention, Student Bodies-Eating Disorders, a digital CBT-guided self-help program, or to referral to usual care.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The main outcome was change in overall ED psychopathology. Secondary outcomes were abstinence from binge eating and compensatory behaviors, as well as ED behavior frequencies, depression, anxiety, clinical impairment, academic impairment, and realized treatment access.

Results

A total of 690 women with EDs (mean [SD] age, 22.12 [4.85] years; 414 [60.0%] White; 120 [17.4%] Hispanic; 512 [74.2%] undergraduates) were included in the analyses. For ED psychopathology, there was a significantly greater reduction in the intervention group compared with the control group at the postintervention assessment (β [SE], -0.44 [0.10]; d = -0.40; t1387 = -4.23; P < .001), as well as over the follow-up period (β [SE], -0.39 [0.12]; d = -0.35; t1387 = -3.30; P < .001). There was not a significant difference in abstinence from any ED behaviors at the postintervention assessment (odds ratio, 1.48; 95% CI, 0.48-4.62; P = .50) or at follow-up (odds ratio, 1.51; 95% CI, 0.63-3.58; P = .36). Compared with the control group, the intervention group had significantly greater reductions in binge eating (rate ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.70-0.96; P = .02), compensatory behaviors (rate ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54-0.86; P < .001), depression (β [SE], -1.34 [0.53]; d = -0.22; t1387 = -2.52; P = .01), and clinical impairment (β [SE], -2.33 [0.94]; d = -0.21; t1387 = -2.49; P = .01) at the postintervention assessment, with these gains sustained through follow-up for all outcomes except binge eating. Groups did not differ in terms of academic impairment. The majority of intervention participants (318 of 385 participants [83%]) began the intervention, whereas only 28% of control participants (76 of 271 participants with follow-up data available) sought treatment for their ED (odds ratio, 12.36; 95% CI, 8.73-17.51; P < .001).

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cluster randomized clinical trial comparing a coached, digital CBT intervention with referral to usual care, the intervention was effective in reducing ED psychopathology, compensatory behaviors, depression, and clinical impairment through long-term follow-up, as well as realizing treatment access. No difference was found between the intervention and control groups for abstinence for all ED behaviors or academic impairment. Given its scalability, a coached, digital, CBT intervention for college women with EDs has the potential to address the wide treatment gap for these disorders.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02076464.

Costs of preparing to implement a virtual reality job interview training programme in a community mental health agency: A budget impact analysis

RATIONAL, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is an evidence based strategy for facilitating employment among adults with severe mental illness (SMI) where staff may lead mock job interviews to prepare clients for real-world interviews (a method with limited scalability and cost effectiveness). A virtual reality job interview training program (VR-JIT)-delivered via the internet-has demonstrated efficacy for increasing employment among adults with SMI. Now, VR-JIT is being implemented with a community mental health agency (CMHA) and evaluated for its effectiveness within IPS. This study is a budget impact analysis, evaluating the costs of preparing a CMHA to implement VR-JIT.

METHOD

Implementation preparation occurred over 7 months from October 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017. CMHA staff (n = 15) and external research partners (n = 3) tracked their hours completing implementation preparation activities. Salaries plus a 28% fringe benefit rate were used to derive a per-hour salary amount for each individual and applied to each activity. Non-labor equipment costs were obtained from purchase receipts. A budget impact analysis evaluated the expenditures associated with preparing the CMHA to implement VRJIT.

RESULTS

The total implementation preparation costs equaled $25,482. Labor costs equaled $22,882 and non-labor costs equaled $2,600. In total, 655 person-hours were spent preparing for VR-JIT implementation (e.g., preparing lab space, training, and supervising operations).

CONCLUSIONS

This study presents an initial evaluation of the budget impact of preparing to implement VR-JIT in a CMHA. Cost considerations for future implementation preparation will be discussed. Given that the cost to prepare to implement an intervention can hinder its adoption, results provide an important analysis for decision-makers that may enhance uptake. Future work will determine the cost-effectiveness of VR-JIT implemented within IPS. This study is registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov, NCT = 03049813, "Virtual Reality Job Interview Training: An Enhancement to Supported Employment in Severe Mental Illness."

Engagement and Clinical Improvement Among Older Adult Primary Care Patients Using a Mobile Intervention for Depression and Anxiety: Case Studies

BACKGROUND

Technology-based mental health interventions are an increasingly attractive option for expanding access to mental health services within the primary care system. Older adults are among the groups that could potentially benefit from the growing ubiquity of technology-based mental health interventions; however, older adults are perceived to be averse to using technology and have reported barriers to use.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this paper is to present a case study of 3 participants from a clinical trial evaluating IntelliCare, an evidence-based mobile intervention for depression and anxiety, among adults recruited from primary care clinics. Our report of these 3 participants, who were aged 60 years or older, focuses on their engagement with the IntelliCare service (ie, app use, coach communication) and clinical changes in depression or anxiety symptoms over the intervention period.

METHODS

The 3 case study participants were offered IntelliCare with coaching for 8 weeks. The intervention consisted of 5 treatment intervention apps that support a variety of psychological skills, a Hub app that contained psychoeducational content and administered weekly assessments, and coaching for encouragement, accountability, and technical assistance as needed. The 3 case study participants were selected to reflect the overall demographics of participants within the trial and because their interactions with IntelliCare provided a good illustration of varied experiences regarding engagement with the intervention.

RESULTS

The 3 participants' unique experiences with the intervention are described. Despite potential barriers and experiencing some technical glitches, the participants showed proficient ability to use the apps, high levels of participation through frequent app use and coach interaction, and decreased depression and anxiety scores. At the end of the 8-week intervention, each of these 3 participants expressed great enthusiasm for the benefit of this program through feedback to their coach, and they each identified a number of ways they had seen improvements in themselves.

CONCLUSIONS

These 3 cases provide examples of older individuals who engaged with and benefitted from the IntelliCare service. Although the results from these 3 cases may not generalize to others, they provide an important, informed perspective of the experiences that can contribute to our understanding of how older adults use and overcome barriers to mental health technologies. The findings also contribute toward the ultimate goal of ensuring that the IntelliCare intervention is appropriate for individuals of all ages.

Digital technology can revolutionize mental health services delivery: The COVID-19 crisis as a catalyst for change

The unprecedented COVID-19 crisis presents an imperative for mental health care systems to make digital mental health interventions a routine part of care. Already because of COVID-19, many therapists have rapidly moved to using telehealth in place of in-person contact. In response to this shift, Waller and colleagues compiled a series of expert recommendations to help clinicians pivot to delivering teletherapy to address eating disorders during COVID-19. However, numerous barriers still impede widespread adoption and implementation of digital interventions. In this commentary, we aim to extend the recommendations for clinicians offered by Waller and colleagues by presenting a roadmap of the systems- and policy-level requirements that are needed. We advocate for addressing barriers associated with training, licensing, safety, privacy, payment, and evaluation, as these factors have greatly limited use of these promising interventions. We also indicate that longer-term goals should include introducing truly innovative digital mental health practices, such as stepped-care models and simultaneously providing preventive and self-management services in addition to clinical services, into the health care system. Now is the time to catalyze change and comprehensively address the barriers that have prevented widespread delivery of these efficacious digital services to the millions of people who would benefit.