Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet #Preprint #PeerReviewMe: Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint. Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn. Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period. Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author). Background: College students are increasingly reporting common mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, and frequently encounter barriers to seeking traditional mental health treatments. Digital mental health interventions, such as those delivered via the web and apps, offer the potential to improve access to mental health treatment. Objective: This study reviews the literature on digital mental health interventions focused on depression, anxiety, and enhancement of psychological well-being among samples of college students to identify the effectiveness, uptake, and adoption of such programs. Methods: We conducted a systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, and the search strategy was conducted by a medical research librarian in the following databases: MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE (Elsevier), PsycINFO (EbscoHost), the Cochrane Library (Wiley), and Web of Science (Thomson Reuters) databases (from the date of inception to December 2017). Data were synthesized using a systematic narrative synthesis framework and formal quality assessments were conducted to address risk of bias. Results: A total of 65 studies met inclusion criteria. The majority of interventions (n = 51) were delivered via website, and the most common intervention was internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT; n = 15). Many programs (n = 27) featured human support in the form of coaching. The majority of studies (n = 35) did not present any usability or acceptability outcomes, and few studies examined broad implementation of digital mental health interventions on college campuses (n = 3). Conclusions: Results suggest that digital mental health interventions can be effective for improving depression, anxiety, and psychological well-being among college students, but more rigorous studies are needed to ascertain the effective elements of these interventions. Continued research on improving the user experience of, and thus user engagement with, these programs appears vital for the sustainable implementation of digital mental health on college campuses.

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet

Treatments for depression and anxiety have several behavioral and psychological targets and rely on varied strategies. Digital mental health treatments often employ feature-rich approaches addressing several targets and strategies. These treatments, often optimized for desktop computer use, are at odds with the ways people use smartphone applications. Smartphone use tends to focus on singular functions with easy navigation to desired tools. The IntelliCare suite of apps was developed to address the discrepancy between need for diverse behavioral strategies and constraints imposed by typical app use. Each app focuses on one strategy for a limited subset of clinical aims all pertinent to depression and anxiety. This study presents the uptake and usage of apps from the IntelliCare suite following an open deployment on a large app marketplace. Thirteen lightweight apps, including 12 interactive apps and one Hub app that coordinates use across those interactive apps, were developed and made free to download on the Google Play store. De-identified app usage data from the first year of IntelliCare suite deployment were analyzed for this study. In the first year of public availability, 5210 individuals downloaded one or more of the IntelliCare apps, for a total of 10,131 downloads. Nearly a third of these individuals (31.8%) downloaded more than one of these apps. The modal number of launches for each of the apps was 1, however the mean number of app launches per app ranged from 3.10 to 16.98, reflecting considerable variability in the use of each app. The use rate of the IntelliCare suite of apps is higher than public deployments of other comparable digital resources. Our findings suggest that people will use multiple apps and provides support for the concept of app suites as a useful strategy for providing diverse behavioral strategies.