Dataset Information

Use of Mental Health Apps by Patients With Breast Cancer in the United States: Pilot Pre-Post Study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Nearly half of the patients with breast cancer experience clinically significant mental distress within the first year of receiving their cancer diagnosis. There is an urgent need to identify scalable and cost-efficient ways of delivering empirically supported mental health interventions to patients with breast cancer. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of in-clinic recruitment for a mobile phone app study and to evaluate the usability and preliminary impact of a suite of mental health apps (IntelliCare) with phone coaching on psychosocial distress symptoms in patients recently diagnosed with breast cancer. METHODS:This pilot study adopted a within-subject, 7-week pre-post study design. A total of 40 patients with breast cancer were recruited at a US National Cancer Institute-designated clinical cancer center. Self-reported distress (Patient Health Questionnaire-4) and mood symptoms (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System depression and anxiety scales) were assessed at baseline and postintervention. App usability was assessed at postintervention. RESULTS:The minimum recruitment threshold was met. There was a significant decrease in general distress symptoms, as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety, from baseline to postintervention. Overall, participants reported high levels of ease of app use and learning. Scores for app usefulness and satisfaction were reinforced by some qualitative feedback suggesting that tailoring the apps more for patients with breast cancer could enhance engagement. CONCLUSIONS:There is a dire need for scalable, supportive interventions in cancer. The results from this study inform how scalable mobile phone-delivered programs with additional phone support can be used to support patients with breast cancer. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID):RR2-10.2196/11452.

SUBMITTER: Chow PI

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7191345 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Use of Mental Health Apps by Patients With Breast Cancer in the United States: Pilot Pre-Post Study.

Chow Philip I PI Showalter Shayna L SL Gerber Matthew M Kennedy Erin M EM Brenin David D Mohr David C DC Lattie Emily G EG Gupta Alisha A Ocker Gabrielle G Cohn Wendy F WF

JMIR cancer 20200415 1

<h4>Background</h4>Nearly half of the patients with breast cancer experience clinically significant mental distress within the first year of receiving their cancer diagnosis. There is an urgent need to identify scalable and cost-efficient ways of delivering empirically supported mental health interventions to patients with breast cancer.<h4>Objective</h4>The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of in-clinic recruitment for a mobile phone app study and to evaluate the usability and p ...[more]

PMID: 32293570

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Project description:BackgroundOver one-third of cancer patients experience clinically significant mental distress, and distress in caregivers can exceed that of the cancer patients for whom they care. There is an urgent need to identify scalable and cost-efficient ways of delivering mental health interventions to cancer patients and their loved ones.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to describe the protocol to pilot a mobile app-based mental health intervention in breast cancer patients and caregivers.MethodsThe IntelliCare mental health apps are grounded in evidence-based research in psychology. They have not been examined in cancer populations. This pilot study will adopt a within-subject, pre-post study design to inform a potential phase III randomized controlled trial. A target sample of 50 individuals (with roughly equal numbers of patients and caregivers) at least 18 years of age and fluent in English will be recruited at a US National Cancer Institute designated clinical cancer center. Consent will be obtained in writing and a mobile phone will be provided if needed. Self-report surveys assessing mental health outcomes will be administered at a baseline session and after a 7-week intervention. Before using the apps, participants will receive a 30-min coaching call to explain their purpose and function. A 10-min coaching call 3 weeks later will check on user progress and address questions or barriers to use. Self-report and semistructured interviews with participants at the end of the study period will focus on user experience and suggestions for improving the apps and coaching in future studies.ResultsThis study is ongoing, and recruitment will be completed by the end of 2018.ConclusionsResults from this study will inform how scalable mobile phone-delivered programs can be used to support breast cancer patients and their loved ones.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03488745; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03488745.International registered report identifier (irrid)DERR1-10.2196/11452.

Project description:BackgroundIn the US, over 52.9 million (21%) adults lived with a mental health illness in 2020, with depression, being one of the commonest of these conditions. The World Health Organization ranks depression as the most important contributor to global disability. As frontline workers who are responsible for taking care of a myriad of patients daily, health workers are usually exposed to depressive situations which eventually result in the development of the condition among them. This study, therefore, developed an intervention to reduce depression among workers at the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic in Washington District of Columbia, United States.MethodsA pre-intervention survey was conducted among 43 employees. The survey used the already validated Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-9) to determine the prevalence of depression. The WHO Healthy Workplace Model was adopted in designing an instrument for the workplace determinants of depression. An mHealth intervention was then developed and implemented among the workers. After this, a post-intervention survey was conducted among the cohort. Descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted in analyzing the data with STATA.ResultsThe pre-intervention survey showed a depression prevalence of 30.2% among the employees. The post-intervention survey, however, showed that the prevalence of depression among the employees reduced to 12.6%. The surveys also showed that the majority of employees who felt exposed to workplace hazards including harmful chemicals, expressed feelings of depression (pre-intervention = 53.6%; post-intervention = 80%).ConclusionThe intervention designed for this study was effective in reducing self-reported depression among employees. Improving employee mental health in health care facilities will require awareness raising among employees, mental health friendly policies, and regular follow up of employee mental health needs. Though this intervention was on a small scale, it shows promise for using cheap mhealth solutions in improving mental health at the work place.

Dataset Information

Use of Mental Health Apps by Patients With Breast Cancer in the United States: Pilot Pre-Post Study.

Publications

Use of Mental Health Apps by Patients With Breast Cancer in the United States: Pilot Pre-Post Study.

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