Digital mental health interventions for anxiety and mood disorders patients: A 24-week follow-up

Abstract

Background: Digital psychoeducational interventions have been used for self-monitoring symptoms and self-care for outpatients with affective and anxiety disorders associated with a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Outpatients with affective and anxiety disorders were recruited for digital mental health interventions (smartphone app and e-book) with treatment as usual. Methods: Participants were evaluated at baseline and at 24-week follow-up with digital mental health interventions. Participants were assessed by questionnaire and scales (the 17-item Hamilton Depressive Rating Scale (HDRS17), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Adverse Childhood Questionnaire, Sheehan Disability Scale, Quality of Life, Perceived Stress Scale, and by anthropometric measures. Results: 153 participants were classified into two groups: (n = 110) participants reported having experienced at least three ACEs ( 7 and lack of physical activities. Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of screening for ACEs to use digital psychoeducational interventions for reducing depressive symptoms and improving physical activities in outpatients with mood and anxiety disorders.

Keywords

• Depressive disorders
• Anxiety disorders
• Digital technology
• Mobile applications
• Child abuse
• Sedentary behaviour