Evaluation of Changes in Depression, Anxiety, and Social Anxiety Using Smartphone Sensor Features: Longitudinal Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

The assessment of behaviors related to mental health typically relies on self-report data. Networked sensors embedded in smartphones can measure some behaviors objectively and continuously, with no ongoing effort.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to evaluate whether changes in phone sensor-derived behavioral features were associated with subsequent changes in mental health symptoms.

METHODS

This longitudinal cohort study examined continuously collected phone sensor data and symptom severity data, collected every 3 weeks, over 16 weeks. The participants were recruited through national research registries. Primary outcomes included depression (8-item Patient Health Questionnaire), generalized anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale), and social anxiety (Social Phobia Inventory) severity. Participants were adults who owned Android smartphones. Participants clustered into 4 groups: multiple comorbidities, depression and generalized anxiety, depression and social anxiety, and minimal symptoms.

RESULTS

A total of 282 participants were aged 19-69 years (mean 38.9, SD 11.9 years), and the majority were female (223/282, 79.1%) and White participants (226/282, 80.1%). Among the multiple comorbidities group, depression changes were preceded by changes in GPS features (Time: r=-0.23, P=.02; Locations: r=-0.36, P<.001), exercise duration (r=0.39; P=.03) and use of active apps (r=-0.31; P<.001). Among the depression and anxiety groups, changes in depression were preceded by changes in GPS features for Locations (r=-0.20; P=.03) and Transitions (r=-0.21; P=.03). Depression changes were not related to subsequent sensor-derived features. The minimal symptoms group showed no significant relationships. There were no associations between sensor-based features and anxiety and minimal associations between sensor-based features and social anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Changes in sensor-derived behavioral features are associated with subsequent depression changes, but not vice versa, suggesting a directional relationship in which changes in sensed behaviors are associated with subsequent changes in symptoms.

A Digital Mobile Community App for Caregivers in Singapore: Predevelopment and Usability Study

Background

With increasing life expectancy and aging populations, the global prevalence of chronic diseases and the long-term care required for people with comorbidities is rising. This has led to an ever-growing need for caregiving. Previous literature has shown that caregivers face problems of isolation and loneliness. However, many health organizations mainly focus their efforts on in-person community groups that require participants to meet physically. This is not always convenient or accessible for caregivers who are often juggling caring for their care recipient with family and work responsibilities.

Objective

With medical advancements such as the proliferation of mobile phones and internet technology, caregivers may have opportunities for easier access to resources and support. Technological innovations could help empower the caregiving community to seek assistance for improving their quality of life at their convenience. A community network app called Caregivers’ Circle was conceptualized in response to the needs of the caregivers on a day-to-day caregiving journey. This paper traces the predevelopment inquiry and technical details of this app to provide a clear understanding of its implementation along with a usability study to gauge user opinion of the app within Singapore.

Methods

A predevelopment survey was conducted to identify specific needs of caregivers and gaps in the currently available web-based community networks. The survey consisted of questions on demographical data, health-related issues of the care recipient, mental and physical health–related issues of the caregiver, digital media use, information seeking, and support. This pre–app development survey was completed by 103 caregivers. Qualitative enquiries were also conducted with caregivers within Singapore to identify issues related to caregiving, support provided, and what caregivers would want from a caregiving mobile app.

Results

From the feedback garnered from the caregivers, the developers were able to identify several caregivers’ needs and gaps within the current support networks. This feedback was integrated into the mobile app called Caregivers’ Circle upon development. The features of this app include a public forum for community discussions, a marketplace to buy and sell items, care groups to hold private discussions with friends or other users of the app, and a friends feature to search and add new caregiving friends.

Conclusions

In general, the caregivers liked the Caregivers’ Circle app and were confident that this app could help them have a better quality of life. The Caregivers’ Circle app is unique in its integrated approach. The integration of many features that caregivers need on a daily basis into an easy app can save their time as well as help them navigate their life smoothly.

Understanding the Impact of Initial COVID-19 Restrictions on Physical Activity, Wellbeing and Quality of Life in Shielding Adults with End-Stage Renal Disease in the United Kingdom Dialysing at Home versus In-Centre and Their Experiences with Telemedicine

Early in the coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) containment strategy, people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were identified as extremely clinically vulnerable and subsequently asked to 'shield' at home where possible. The aim of this study was to investigate how these restrictions and the transition to an increased reliance on telemedicine within clinical care of people living with kidney disease impacted the physical activity (PA), wellbeing and quality of life (QoL) of adults dialysing at home (HHD) or receiving in-centre haemodialysis (ICHD) in the UK. Individual semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with adults receiving HHD (n = 10) or ICHD (n = 10), were transcribed verbatim and, subsequently, thematically analysed. As result of the COVID-19 restrictions, PA, wellbeing and QoL of people with ESRD were found to have been hindered. However, widespread support for the continued use of telemedicine was strongly advocated and promoted independence and satisfaction in patient care. These findings highlight the need for more proactive care of people with ESRD if asked to shield again, as well as increased awareness of safe and appropriate PA resources to help with home-based PA and emotional wellbeing.

Sensing behavioral symptoms of mental health and delivering personalized interventions using mobile technologies

Unlike most other health conditions, the treatment of mental illness relies on subjective measurement. In addition, the criteria for diagnosing mental illnesses are based on broad categories of symptoms that do not account for individual deviations from these criteria. The increasing availability of personal digital devices, such as smartphones that are equipped with sensors, offers a new opportunity to continuously and passively measure human behavior in situ. This promises to lead to more precise assessment of human behavior and ultimately individual mental health. More refined modeling of individual mental health and a consideration of individual context, assessed through continuous monitoring, opens the way for more precise and personalized digital interventions that may help increase the number of positive clinical outcomes in mental healthcare. In this paper, we provide a conceptual review of such techniques for measuring, modeling, and treating mental illness and maintaining mental health.

Internet-based guided self-help for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

There are numerous barriers that limit access to evidence-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Internet-based guided self-help is a treatment option that may help widen access to effective intervention, but the approach has not been sufficiently explored for the treatment of PTSD.

METHODS

Forty two adults with DSM-5 PTSD of mild to moderate severity were randomly allocated to internet-based self-help with up to 3 h of therapist assistance, or to a delayed treatment control group. The internet-based program included eight modules that focused on psychoeducation, grounding, relaxation, behavioural activation, real-life and imaginal exposure, cognitive therapy, and relapse prevention. The primary outcome measure was reduction in clinician-rated traumatic stress symptoms using the clinician administered PTSD scale for DSM-V (CAPS-5). Secondary outcomes were self-reported PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, alcohol use, perceived social support, and functional impairment.

RESULTS

Posttreatment, the internet-based guided self-help group had significantly lower clinician assessed PTSD symptoms than the delayed treatment control group (between-group effect size Cohen's d = 1.86). The difference was maintained at 1-month follow-up and dissipated once both groups had received treatment. Similar patterns of difference between the two groups were found for depression, anxiety, and functional impairment. The average contact with treating clinicians was 2½ h.

CONCLUSIONS

Internet-based trauma-focused guided self-help for PTSD is a promising treatment option that requires far less therapist time than current first line face-to-face psychological therapy.