Development of a Multiplatform Mental Health Mobile Tool

Anxiety and depressive symptoms are prevalent in Chilean adults. The considerable gaps in health-related demand and medical-care supply hinders the access to psychological treatment, which negatively impacts the population's overall well-being. In this scenario, it becomes necessary to find alternatives that enable the access to mental health treatment. The use of remote psychological treatments, particularly mobile applications for mental health (MAMH), has been deemed as promising in this regard. Although in recent years the number of MAMH has increased explosively, many of them do not have any theoretical support for their effectiveness. The few MAHMs that have presented evidence of their effectiveness reducing symptomathology use the elements of assessment, psychoeducation, and symptom-management strategies as intervention pillars. The combination of these three elements seems to be highly effective, but no studies have examined the effectiveness of said components in detail. Thus, the aim of this exploratory study is to develop a multiplatform mobile application for mental health care for adults, and test the effectiveness of its assessment, psychoeducation, and emotional regulation strategy components, at post-intervention and 1-month follow-up. In the study, 4 experimental conditions are carried out to evaluate the components both in their effectiveness, and their usability and applicability. The researchers hypothesize that the combination of psychoeducation and any self-regulatory strategies will prove more effective than the evaluation and psychoeducation component alone in decreasing symptomatology. The expected sample comprises a total 196 participants equally divided in the 4 groups, that will actively test the application. In Group 1: the participants will have access only to the monitoring (or evaluation) and psychoeducation module for 30 days; Group 2: participants will have access to the monitoring module, psychoeducation and mindfulness strategies for 30 days; Group 3: participants will have access to the monitoring module, psychoeducation and behavioral activation strategies for 30 days; Group 4: Participants will have access to the monitoring, psychoeducation and cognitive strategies module for 30 days. Outcomes measured will consider self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms, among other psychological and well-being variables. These outcomes will be measured at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. Participants will be randomly assigned to any group with a 1:1 allocation as per computer-generated randomization, using the PHP rand() function. Additionally, a subsample of 32 random participants will also engage in focus-groups to assess user experience with the application. Analyses of all outcomes at different timepoints will be carried out through linear mixed model for repeated measures (MMRM) analyses, and content analyses. This study is expected to last 14 months (September 2023 to October 2024).