Using apps in clinical practice: 8 studies

Conclusions/limitations

• This study suggests that using microinterventions in acute settings can effectively reduce depressive symptoms both as they occur, and 1 to 2 months later.
• Limitations: The study featured a naturalistic design, where participants self-selected whether they wanted to use the program. Participants did not complete eligibility assessments or receive compensation, and the study had high dropout rates, ranging from 20% for the waitlist control group to 67% for the ImproveYourMood+ group.

4. McLean C, Davis CA, Miller M, et al. The effects of an exposure-based mobile app on symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans: pilot randomized controlled trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2022;10(11):e38951. doi:10.2196/38951

Veterans with PTSD face barriers when receiving trauma-focused treatments such as exposure therapy or CBT. Smartphone apps may help veterans self-treat and self-manage their PTSD symptoms. McLean et al⁸ studied the efficacy of Renew, a smartphone app that uses exposure therapy and social support to treat PTSD.

Study design

• In this pilot RCT, 93 veterans with clinically significant PTSD symptoms were randomly assigned to use the Renew app with and without support from a research staff member (active use group) or to a waitlist (delayed use group) for 6 weeks.
• The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) was used to measure PTSD symptoms at preintervention, postintervention, and 6-week follow-up.
• Most participants (69%) were women, and the mean age was 49.

Outcomes

• Compared to the delayed use group, participants in the active use group experienced a larger decrease in PCL-5 score (-6.14 vs -1.84). However, this difference was not statistically significant (P = .29), and the effect size was small (d = -0.39).
• There was no difference in engagement with the app between participants who received support from a research staff member and those who did not receive such support.

Continue to: Conclusions/limitations