Mobile Apps Effective for Treating Moderate and Severe Depression

Study also identifies design features that can enhance effectiveness

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Nov. 21, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Mobile app interventions are effective for treating moderate and severe depression, according to a review published online Nov. 20 in JAMA Network Open.

Hayoung Bae, from Korea University in Seoul, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to identify randomized clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of mobile app treatments in adults with moderate-to-severe depression.

Based on 13 included studies (16 intervention apps with 1,470 participants), the researchers found that the overall pooled effect size of mobile app interventions was 0.50 versus both active and inactive control groups. Significantly lower treatment outcomes were seen with interventions with in-app notifications (standardized mean difference [SMD], 0.45) versus interventions without (SMD, 0.71). App interventions lasting less than eight weeks were associated with a significantly greater effect size (SMD, 0.77) versus interventions delivered for eight weeks or longer (SMD, 0.43).

“In this systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy associated with app-based interventions for moderate-to-severe depression, a significant reduction was found in depression severity associated with use of app interventions,” the authors write. “These findings are expected to provide developers and researchers in the rapidly evolving field of mHealth with practical insights into the development, prescription, and implementation of app-based depression interventions.”