The effect of the Yara smartphone application on anxiety, sleep quality, and suicidal thoughts in patients with major depressive disorder in Iran: A randomized controlled trial

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 depression symptoms. The present study aimed to determine the effect of the newly developed Yara smartphone application on anxiety, sleep quality, and suicidal thoughts in patients with MDD. Methods This randomized controlled trial with a pretest-posttest design was conducted on Iranian patients with MDD in 2022. Sixty-four patients were recruited using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two control and intervention groups. The intervention was conducted using the Yara smartphone application for three months. Data were collected using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSSI). Data were first entered into IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., USA) and then analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results There was no statistically significant difference in the mean score of anxiety and sleep quality between the intervention and control groups before the intervention (p ≥ .05). However, this difference in the mean score of anxiety and sleep quality was statistically significant in the two groups after the intervention (p < .05). The results showed no statistically significant difference in the mean score of suicidal thoughts between the two groups before and after the intervention (p ≥ .05). The use of the Yara smartphone application had a significant positive effect on anxiety and sleep quality in depressed patients (p < .001). At the same time, it had no significant effect on suicidal thoughts (p ≥ .05). Conclusion Considering the positive effect of using the Yara smartphone application on reducing anxiety and improving sleep quality in depressed patients, this application can help alleviate the problems of depressed patients alongside existing treatment methods. Thus, this application is recommended for this group of patients in psychiatric clinics and departments. The Yara application's effectiveness was not approved on suicidal thoughts in this study so that further investigation would be necessary.