Resource Tag: SMARTPHONES

Background Depression is one of the most common mental disorders that leads to anxiety, sleep disturbances, and suicidal thoughts. Due to the high cost of treatment and the reluctance of many patients to seek medical help, major depressive disorder (MDD) is becoming more prevalent. Therefore, alternative methods like smartphone applications can help prevent and improve […]

Background: Suicide is a major global public health issue that is becoming increasingly common despite preventive efforts. Though current methods for predicting suicide risk are not sufficiently accurate, technological advances provide invaluable tools with which we may evolve toward a personalized, predictive approach. Objective: We aim to predict the short-term (1-week) risk of suicide by […]

Mobile health (mHealth) apps are handy tools for tackling stigmatized mental health issues, including suicide. Mobile-based interventions for suicide prevention are easily accessible, increase the likelihood of honest reporting on sensitive topics and reduce stigma as compared to face-to-face or traditional interventions. Many mHealth apps for suicide prevention exist. However, the persuasive strategies employed in […]

Introduction The Virtual Hope Box (VHB) is a smartphone application designed to support emotion regulation when one is distressed, in a crisis, or experiencing suicidal ideation (SI). Initial proof of concept studies indicate that individuals are more likely to use the VHB than traditional hope boxes, and find it both easy to setup and helpful. […]

Background: Suicide rates in the United States have increased recently among Black men. To address this public health crisis, smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) platforms are a promising way to collect dynamic, real-time data that can help improve suicide prevention efforts. Despite the promise of this methodology, little is known about its suitability in detecting […]

Background: Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among young people aged 15-29 years worldwide and suicide rates are increasing. Suicide prevention strategies can be effective but young people face barriers to accessing them. Providing support digitally can facilitate access, but this can also pose risks if there is inappropriate or harmful content. Collaborative […]

Background Suicide is a major global public health issue that is becoming increasingly common despite preventive efforts. Though current methods for predicting suicide risk are not sufficiently accurate, technological advances provide invaluable tools with which we may evolve toward a personalized, predictive approach. Objective We aim to predict the short-term (1-week) risk of suicide by […]

Trials of digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) often exclude individuals with suicide-related thoughts and behaviors precluding an understanding of whether DMHIs for affective disorders are safe for, and perform similarly within, this high-risk group. We explore the safety and performance of a DMHI for depression in participants with and without suicidal ideation (SI) at baseline. […]

Objective Evaluate the effectiveness of mobile applications developed for intervention in suicide risk in adults. Method Searches for articles were carried out in four databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and PsychINFO). For the meta-analyses, we used fixed effect modelling to assess the primary outcome. The PROSPERO register is CRD42020163876. Results After applying inclusion and […]

Introduction Young people are the most frequent users of social media and smartphones and there has been an increasing speculation about the potential negative impacts of their use on mental health. This has coincided with a sharp increase in the levels of self-harm in young people. To date, studies researching this potential association are predominantly cross-sectional […]

Purpose: In Australia and elsewhere, suicide rates among construction workers remain high. Construction workplaces are thus an important setting for targeted suicide prevention programs. This study aimed to compare suicide prevention literacy and help-seeking intentions among participants receiving face-to-face suicide prevention training, with those receiving face-to-face training augmented by a smartphone application. Methods: A two-arm randomised controlled […]

Objective Identifying digital markers of sleep disturbance—a known suicide risk factor—may aid in the detection of imminent suicide risk. This study examined sleep-related communication and texting patterns in personal text messages (N = 86,705) of suicide attempt survivors. Method Twenty-six participants provided dates of past suicide attempts and 2-week periods of positive mood, depressed mood, or suicidal […]

Background Depression is a leading cause of disability in adolescents, however few receive evidence-based treatment. Despite having the potential to overcome barriers to treatment uptake and adherence, there are very few CBT-based smartphone apps for adolescents. To address this gap, we developed ClearlyMe®, a self-guided CBT smartphone app for adolescent depression and anxiety. ClearlyMe® consists […]

This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to explore the correlates of suicidal ideation (SI) instability in patients hospitalized for depression and SI. Thirty-nine adult inpatients were given smartphones with visual analogue scales to rate current depressed mood, anger/irritability, feeling socially connected, and SI three times a day throughout hospitalization. Affective Lability Scales (ALS) were […]

Objective: We aimed to assess the associations between problematic smartphone use, unhealthy behaviors, and mental health status among adolescents. Methods: The data for this cross-sectional study were obtained from the 13th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2017). From among the 62,276 adolescents who participated in this nationwide web-based survey, 54,603 (87.7%) who used smartphones were […]

Objective Digital monitoring technologies (e.g., smartphones and wearable devices) provide unprecedented opportunities to study potentially harmful behaviors such as suicide, violence, and alcohol/substance use in real‐time. The use of these new technologies has the potential to significantly advance the understanding, prediction, and prevention of these behaviors. However, such technologies also introduce myriad ethical and safety […]

Objectives We investigate whether meta‐data, specifically duration of responses to smartphone‐delivered surveys, is correlated to elevated scores on the depression assessment PHQ‐9 as well as the specific item around self‐harm (item 9). Methods In this observational study, we recruited 92 smartphone‐owning adults (≥ 18) with schizophrenia (45) and healthy controls (43). We installed an open‐source smartphone […]

Objective: Increases in depression among adolescents have been concurrent with increases in digital media use. In this article, recent trends in mental health among U.S. adolescents and young adults are discussed and theories about their possible connection with concurrent increases in digital media use are presented. Methods: Large studies of trends in mental health in […]

Background: Digital phenotyping and machine learning are nowadays being used to augment or even replace traditional analytic procedures in many domains, including health care. Given the heavy reliance on smartphones and mobile devices around the world, this readily available source of data is an important and highly underutilized source that has the potential to improve […]

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a suicide prevention smartphone application. Method Thirty‐six non‐Aboriginal Australians aged between 16 and 42 years (67% female) were recruited from a tertiary mental health service where they were receiving treatment for suicide risk. Participants were asked to use the BeyondNow safety planning […]

Background This study sought to examine the occurrence of the problematic use of smartphones in a university sample and associated physical and mental health correlates, including potential relationships with risky sexual practices. Methods A 156-item anonymous online survey was distributed via e-mail to a sample of 9,449 university students. In addition to problematic smartphone usage, […]

Decades of research suggest that social support is an important factor in predicting suicide risk and resilience. However, no studies have examined dynamic fluctuations in day-by-day levels of perceived social support. We examined such fluctuations over 28 days among a sample of 53 adults who attempted suicide in the past year (992 total observations). Variability […]