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1.
Proc AAAI Conf Artif Intell ; 38(21): 22906-22912, 2024 Mar 25.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38666291

ABSTRACT

Digital mental health (DMH) interventions, such as text-message-based lessons and activities, offer immense potential for accessible mental health support. While these interventions can be effective, real-world experimental testing can further enhance their design and impact. Adaptive experimentation, utilizing algorithms like Thompson Sampling for (contextual) multi-armed bandit (MAB) problems, can lead to continuous improvement and personalization. However, it remains unclear when these algorithms can simultaneously increase user experience rewards and facilitate appropriate data collection for social-behavioral scientists to analyze with sufficient statistical confidence. Although a growing body of research addresses the practical and statistical aspects of MAB and other adaptive algorithms, further exploration is needed to assess their impact across diverse real-world contexts. This paper presents a software system developed over two years that allows text-messaging intervention components to be adapted using bandit and other algorithms while collecting data for side-by-side comparison with traditional uniform random non-adaptive experiments. We evaluate the system by deploying a text-message-based DMH intervention to 1100 users, recruited through a large mental health non-profit organization, and share the path forward for deploying this system at scale. This system not only enables applications in mental health but could also serve as a model testbed for adaptive experimentation algorithms in other domains.

2.
J Affect Disord ; 345: 122-130, 2024 01 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37866736

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) offer potential solutions for addressing mental health care gaps, but often suffer from low engagement. Text messaging is one promising medium for increasing access and sustaining user engagement with DMHIs. This paper examines the Small Steps SMS program, an 8-week, automated, adaptive text message-based intervention for depression and anxiety. METHODS: We conducted an 8-week longitudinal usability test of the Small Steps SMS program, recruiting 20 participants who met criteria for major depressive disorder and/or generalized anxiety disorder. Participants used the automated intervention for 8 weeks and completed symptom severity and usability self-report surveys after 4 and 8 weeks of intervention use. Participants also completed individual interviews to provide feedback on the intervention. RESULTS: Participants responded to automated messages on 70 % of study days and with 85 % of participants sending responses to messages in the 8th week of use. Usability surpassed established cutoffs for software that is considered acceptable. Depression symptom severity decreased significantly over the usability test, but reductions in anxiety symptoms were not significant. Participants noted key areas for improvement including addressing message volume, aligning message scheduling to individuals' availability, and increasing the customizability of content. LIMITATIONS: This study does not contain a control group. CONCLUSIONS: An 8-week automated interactive text messaging intervention, Small Steps SMS, demonstrates promise with regard to being a feasible, usable, and engaging method to deliver daily mental health support to individuals with symptoms of anxiety and depression.


Subject(s)
Depressive Disorder, Major , Self-Management , Text Messaging , Humans , Depression/diagnosis , Depression/therapy , Depressive Disorder, Major/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder, Major/therapy , Anxiety/therapy
3.
Proc ACM Hum Comput Interact ; 7(CSCW2)2023 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38094872

ABSTRACT

Digital tools have potential to support collaborative management of mental health conditions, but we need to better understand how to integrate them in routine healthcare, particularly for patients with both physical and mental health needs. We therefore conducted interviews and design workshops with 1) a group of care managers who support patients with complex health needs, and 2) their patients whose health needs include mental health concerns. We investigate both groups' views of potential applications of digital tools within care management. Findings suggest that care managers felt underprepared to play an ongoing role in addressing mental health issues and had concerns about the burden and ambiguity of providing support through new digital channels. In contrast, patients envisioned benefiting from ongoing mental health support from care managers, including support in using digital tools. Patients' and care managers' needs may diverge such that meeting both through the same tools presents a significant challenge. We discuss how successful design and integration of digital tools into care management would require reconceptualizing these professionals' roles in mental health support.

4.
JMIR Form Res ; 7: e47404, 2023 Nov 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37966869

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is increasingly common and associated with serious and costly health consequences. Cessation of drinking can improve ALD morbidity and mortality; however, support for cessation is not routinely offered to those diagnosed with ALD, and continued drinking or resumption of drinking after diagnosis is common. Mobile health (mHealth) has the potential to offer convenient and scalable support for alcohol cessation to those diagnosed with ALD, but mHealth interventions for alcohol cessation have not been designed for or evaluated in a population with ALD. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to understand how individuals with ALD would perceive and use an mHealth tool for alcohol cessation and to gather their perspectives on potential refinements to the tool that would allow it to better meet their needs. METHODS: We interviewed 11 individuals who attended clinic visits related to their ALD to elicit their needs related to support for alcohol cessation and views on how mHealth could be applied. After completing initial interviews (pre), participants were provided with access to an mHealth app designed for alcohol cessation, which they used for 1 month. Afterward, they were interviewed again (post) to give feedback on their experiences, including aspects of the app that met their needs and potential refinements. We applied a mixed methods approach, including a qualitative analysis to identify major themes from the interview transcripts and descriptive analyses of use of the app over 1 month. RESULTS: First, we found that a diagnosis of ALD is perceived as a motivator to quit drinking but that patients had difficulty processing the overwhelming amount of information about ALD they received and finding resources for cessation of alcohol use. Second, we found that the app was perceived as usable and useful for supporting drinking recovery, with patients responding favorably to the self-tracking and motivational components of the app. Finally, patients identified areas in which the app could be adapted to meet the needs of patients with ALD, such as providing information on the medical implications of an ALD diagnosis and how to care for their liver as well as connecting individuals with ALD to one another via a peer-to-peer support forum. Rates of app use were high and sustained across the entire study, with participants using the app a little more than half the days during the study on average and with 100% (11/11) of participants logging in each week. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the need for convenient access to resources for alcohol cessation after ALD diagnosis and support the potential of an mHealth approach to integrate recovery support into care for ALD. Our findings also highlight the ways the alcohol cessation app should be modified to address ALD-specific concerns.

5.
Internet Interv ; 34: 100677, 2023 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37808416

ABSTRACT

As digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) proliferate, there is a growing need to understand the complexities of moving these tools from concept and design to service-ready products. We highlight five case studies from a center that specializes in the design and evaluation of digital mental health interventions to illustrate pragmatic approaches to the development of digital mental health interventions, and to make transparent some of the key decision points researchers encounter along the design-to-product pipeline. Case studies cover different key points in the design process and focus on partnership building, understanding the problem or opportunity, prototyping the product or service, and testing the product or service. We illustrate lessons learned and offer a series of questions researchers can use to navigate key decision points in the digital mental health intervention (DMHI) development process.

6.
JMIR Form Res ; 7: e48152, 2023 Oct 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37801349

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Despite the high prevalence of anxiety and depression among young adults, many do not seek formal treatment. Some may turn to digital mental health tools for support instead, including to self-track moods, behaviors, and other variables related to mental health. Researchers have sought to understand processes and motivations involved in self-tracking, but few have considered the specific needs and preferences of young adults who are not engaged in treatment and who seek to use self-tracking to support mental health. OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to assess the types of experiences young adults not engaged in treatment have had with digital self-tracking for mood and other mental health data and to assess how young adults not seeking treatment want to engage in self-tracking to support their mental health. METHODS: We conducted 2 online asynchronous discussion groups with 50 young adults aged 18 years to 25 years who were not engaged in treatment. Participants were recruited after indicating moderate to severe symptoms of depression or anxiety on screening surveys hosted on the website of Mental Health America. Participants who enrolled in the study responded anonymously to discussion prompts on a message board, as well as to each other's responses, and 3 coders performed a thematic analysis of their responses. RESULTS: Participants had mixed experiences with self-tracking in the past, including disliking when tracking highlighted unwanted behaviors and discontinuing tracking for a variety of reasons. They had more positive past experiences tracking behaviors and tasks they wanted to increase, using open-ended journaling, and with gamified elements to increase motivation. Participants highlighted several design considerations they wanted self-tracking tools to address, including building self-understanding; organization, reminders, and structure; and simplifying the self-tracking experience. Participants wanted self-tracking to help them identify their feelings and how their feelings related to other variables like sleep, exercise, and events in their lives. Participants also highlighted self-tracking as useful for motivating and supporting basic activities and tasks of daily living during periods of feeling overwhelmed or low mood and providing a sense of accomplishment and stability. Although self-tracking can be burdensome, participants were interested and provided suggestions for simplifying the process. CONCLUSIONS: These young adults not engaged in treatment reported interest in using self-tracking to build self-understanding as a goal in and of itself or as a first step in contemplating and preparing for behavior change or treatment-seeking. Alexithymia, amotivation, and feeling overwhelmed may serve both as barriers to self-tracking and opportunities for self-tracking to help.

7.
Internet Interv ; 34: 100667, 2023 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37746639

ABSTRACT

Background: Young adults have high rates of mental health conditions, but most do not want or cannot access treatment. By leveraging a medium that young adults routinely use, text messaging programs have potential to keep young adults engaged with content supporting self-management of mental health issues and can be delivered inexpensively at scale. We designed an intervention that imparts strategies for self-managing mental health symptoms through interactive text messaging dialogues and engages users through novelty and variety in strategies (from cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and positive psychology) and styles of interaction (e.g., prompts, peer stories, writing tasks). Methods: The aim of this mixed-methods study was to pilot 1- and 2-week versions of an interactive text messaging intervention among young adults (ages 18-25), and to obtain feedback to guide intervention refinements. Young adults were recruited via a mental health advocacy website and snowball sampling at a North American University. We used Wizard-of-Oz methods in which study staff sent messages based on a detailed script. Transcripts of interviews were subject to qualitative analysis to identify aspects of the program that need improvements, and to gather participant perspectives on possible solutions. Results: Forty-eight individuals ages 18-25 participated in the study (mean age: 22.0). 85 % responded to the program at least once. Among those who ever responded, they replied to messages on 85 % of days, and with engagement sustained over the study period. Participants endorsed the convenience of text messaging, the types of interactive dialogues, and the variety of content. They also identified needed improvements to message volume, scheduling, and content. Conclusions: Young adults showed high levels of engagement and satisfaction with a texting program supporting mental health self-management. The program may be improved through refining personalization, timing, and message volume, and extending content to support use over a longer timeframe. If shown to be effective in randomized trials, this program has potential to help address a substantial treatment gap in young adults' mental health.

8.
J Med Internet Res ; 25: e45589, 2023 08 22.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37606984

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Smartphone-based apps are increasingly used to prevent relapse among those with substance use disorders (SUDs). These systems collect a wealth of data from participants, including the content of messages exchanged in peer-to-peer support forums. How individuals self-disclose and exchange social support in these forums may provide insight into their recovery course, but a manual review of a large corpus of text by human coders is inefficient. OBJECTIVE: The study sought to evaluate the feasibility of applying supervised machine learning (ML) to perform large-scale content analysis of an online peer-to-peer discussion forum. Machine-coded data were also used to understand how communication styles relate to writers' substance use and well-being outcomes. METHODS: Data were collected from a smartphone app that connects patients with SUDs to online peer support via a discussion forum. Overall, 268 adult patients with SUD diagnoses were recruited from 3 federally qualified health centers in the United States beginning in 2014. Two waves of survey data were collected to measure demographic characteristics and study outcomes: at baseline (before accessing the app) and after 6 months of using the app. Messages were downloaded from the peer-to-peer forum and subjected to manual content analysis. These data were used to train supervised ML algorithms using features extracted from the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) system to automatically identify the types of expression relevant to peer-to-peer support. Regression analyses examined how each expression type was associated with recovery outcomes. RESULTS: Our manual content analysis identified 7 expression types relevant to the recovery process (emotional support, informational support, negative affect, change talk, insightful disclosure, gratitude, and universality disclosure). Over 6 months of app use, 86.2% (231/268) of participants posted on the app's support forum. Of these participants, 93.5% (216/231) posted at least 1 message in the content categories of interest, generating 10,503 messages. Supervised ML algorithms were trained on the hand-coded data, achieving F1-scores ranging from 0.57 to 0.85. Regression analyses revealed that a greater proportion of the messages giving emotional support to peers was related to reduced substance use. For self-disclosure, a greater proportion of the messages expressing universality was related to improved quality of life, whereas a greater proportion of the negative affect expressions was negatively related to quality of life and mood. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights a method of natural language processing with potential to provide real-time insights into peer-to-peer communication dynamics. First, we found that our ML approach allowed for large-scale content coding while retaining moderate-to-high levels of accuracy. Second, individuals' expression styles were associated with recovery outcomes. The expression types of emotional support, universality disclosure, and negative affect were significantly related to recovery outcomes, and attending to these dynamics may be important for appropriate intervention.


Subject(s)
Mobile Applications , Quality of Life , Adult , Humans , Machine Learning , Disclosure , Affect
9.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37223844

ABSTRACT

Without a nuanced understanding of users' perspectives and contexts, text messaging tools for supporting psychological wellbeing risk delivering interventions that are mismatched to users' dynamic needs. We investigated the contextual factors that influence young adults' day-to-day experiences when interacting with such tools. Through interviews and focus group discussions with 36 participants, we identified that people's daily schedules and affective states were dominant factors that shape their messaging preferences. We developed two messaging dialogues centered around these factors, which we deployed to 42 participants to test and extend our initial understanding of users' needs. Across both studies, participants provided diverse opinions of how they could be best supported by messages, particularly around when to engage users in more passive versus active ways. They also proposed ways of adjusting message length and content during periods of low mood. Our findings provide design implications and opportunities for context-aware mental health management systems.

10.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak ; 22(1): 323, 2022 12 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36476612

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Clinical decision aids may support shared decision-making for screening mammography. To inform shared decision-making between patients and their providers, this study examines how patterns of using an EHR-integrated decision aid and accompanying verbal patient-provider communication predict decision-making satisfaction. METHODS: For 51 patient visits during which a mammography decision aid was used, linguistic characteristics of patient-provider verbal communication were extracted from transcribed audio recordings and system logs automatically captured uses of the decision aid. Surveys assessed patients' post-visit decisional satisfaction and its subcomponents. Linear mixed effects models assessed how patients' satisfaction with decision making was related to patterns of verbal communication and navigation of the decision aid. RESULTS: The results indicate that providers' use of quantitative language during the encounter was positively associated with patients' overall satisfaction, feeling informed, and values clarity. Patients' question-asking was negatively associated with overall satisfaction, values clarity, and certainty perception. Where system use data indicated the dyad had cycled through the decision-making process more than once ("looping" back through pages of the decision aid), patients reported improved satisfaction with shared decision making and all subcomponents. Overall satisfaction, perceived support, certainty, and perceived effectiveness of decision-making were lowest when a high number of navigating clicks occurred absent "looping." CONCLUSIONS: Linguistic features of patient-provider communication and system use data of a decision aid predict patients' satisfaction with shared decision making. Our findings have implications for the design of decision aid tools and clinician training to support more effective shared decision-making for screening mammography.


Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms , Decision Support Systems, Clinical , Humans , Female , Mammography , Early Detection of Cancer , Patient Satisfaction , Breast Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Communication
11.
Proc ACM Hum Comput Interact ; 6(CSCW2)2022 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36387059

ABSTRACT

In pursuit of mental wellness, many find that behavioral change is necessary. This process can often be difficult but is facilitated by strong social support. This paper explores the role of social support across behavioral change journeys among young adults, a group at high risk for mental health challenges, but with the lowest rates of mental health treatment utilization. Given that digital mental health tools are effective for treating mental health conditions, they hold particular promise for bridging the treatment gap among young adults, many of whom, are not interested in - or cannot access - traditional mental healthcare. We recruited a sample of young adults with depression who were seeking information about their symptoms online to participate in an Asynchronous Remote Community (ARC) elicitation workshop. Participants detailed the changing nature of social interactions across their behavior change journeys. They noted that both directed and undirected support are necessary early in behavioral change and certain needs such as informational support are particularly pronounced, while healthy coping partnerships and accountability are more important later in the change process. We discuss the conceptual and design implications of our findings for the next generation of digital mental health tools.

12.
Procedia Comput Sci ; 206: 68-80, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36388769

ABSTRACT

Young adults (ages 18-25) experience the highest levels of mental health problems of any adult age group, but have the lowest mental health treatment rates. Text messages are the most used feature on the mobile phone and provide an opportunity to reach non-treatment engaged users throughout the day in a conversational manner. We present the design of an automated text message-based intervention for symptom self-management. The intervention comprises: (1) psychological strategies (i.e., types of evidence-based techniques leveraged to achieve symptom reduction) and (2) interaction types or the form that intervention content takes as it is delivered to and elicited from users.

13.
NPJ Digit Med ; 5(1): 97, 2022 Jul 21.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35864312

ABSTRACT

While a growing number of machine learning (ML) systems have been deployed in clinical settings with the promise of improving patient care, many have struggled to gain adoption and realize this promise. Based on a qualitative analysis of coded interviews with clinicians who use an ML-based system for sepsis, we found that, rather than viewing the system as a surrogate for their clinical judgment, clinicians perceived themselves as partnering with the technology. Our findings suggest that, even without a deep understanding of machine learning, clinicians can build trust with an ML system through experience, expert endorsement and validation, and systems designed to accommodate clinicians' autonomy and support them across their entire workflow.

14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35574512

ABSTRACT

Young adults have high rates of mental health conditions, but most do not want or cannot access formal treatment. We therefore recruited young adults with depression or anxiety symptoms to co-design a digital tool for self-managing their mental health concerns. Through study activities-consisting of an online discussion group and a series of design workshops-participants highlighted the importance of easy-to-use digital tools that allow them to exercise independence in their self-management. They described ways that an automated messaging tool might benefit them by: facilitating experimentation with diverse concepts and experiences; allowing variable depth of engagement based on preferences, availability, and mood; and collecting feedback to personalize the tool. While participants wanted to feel supported by an automated tool, they cautioned against incorporating an overtly human-like motivational tone. We discuss ways to apply these findings to improve the design and dissemination of digital mental health tools for young adults.

15.
Proc ACM Hum Comput Interact ; 6(CSCW1)2022 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35529806

ABSTRACT

Digital tools can support individuals managing mental health concerns, but delivering sufficiently engaging content is challenging. This paper seeks to clarify how individuals with mental health concerns can contribute content to improve push-based mental health messaging tools. We recruited crowdworkers with mental health symptoms to evaluate and revise expert-composed content for an automated messaging tool, and to generate new topics and messages. A second wave of crowdworkers evaluated expert and crowdsourced content. Crowdworkers generated topics for messages that had not been prioritized by experts, including self-care, positive thinking, inspiration, relaxation, and reassurance. Peer evaluators rated messages written by experts and peers similarly. Our findings also suggest the importance of personalization, particularly when content adaptation occurs over time as users interact with example messages. These findings demonstrate the potential of crowdsourcing for generating diverse and engaging content for push-based tools, and suggest the need to support users in meaningful content customization.

16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35531062

ABSTRACT

Young adults have high rates of mental health conditions, yet they are the age group least likely to seek traditional treatment. They do, however, seek information about their mental health online, including by filling out online mental health screeners. To better understand online self-screening, and its role in help-seeking, we conducted focus groups with 50 young adults who voluntarily completed a mental health screener hosted on an advocacy website. We explored (1) catalysts for taking the screener, (2) anticipated outcomes, (3) reactions to the results, and (4) desired next steps. For many participants, the screener results validated their lived experiences of symptoms, but they were nevertheless unsure how to use the information to improve their mental health moving forward. Our findings suggest that online screeners can serve as a transition point in young people's mental health journeys. We discuss design implications for online screeners, post-screener feedback, and digital interventions broadly.

17.
J Gen Intern Med ; 37(3): 521-530, 2022 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34100234

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: By 2030, the number of US adults age ≥65 will exceed 70 million. Their quality of life has been declared a national priority by the US government. OBJECTIVE: Assess effects of an eHealth intervention for older adults on quality of life, independence, and related outcomes. DESIGN: Multi-site, 2-arm (1:1), non-blinded randomized clinical trial. Recruitment November 2013 to May 2015; data collection through November 2016. SETTING: Three Wisconsin communities (urban, suburban, and rural). PARTICIPANTS: Purposive community-based sample, 390 adults age ≥65 with health challenges. EXCLUSIONS: long-term care, inability to get out of bed/chair unassisted. INTERVENTION: Access (vs. no access) to interactive website (ElderTree) designed to improve quality of life, social connection, and independence. MEASURES: Primary outcome: quality of life (PROMIS Global Health). Secondary: independence (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living); social support (MOS Social Support); depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-8); falls prevention (Falls Behavioral Scale). Moderation: healthcare use (Medical Services Utilization). Both groups completed all measures at baseline, 6, and 12 months. RESULTS: Three hundred ten participants (79%) completed the 12-month survey. There were no main effects of ElderTree over time. Moderation analyses indicated that among participants with high primary care use, ElderTree (vs. control) led to better trajectories for mental quality of life (OR=0.32, 95% CI 0.10-0.54, P=0.005), social support received (OR=0.17, 95% CI 0.05-0.29, P=0.007), social support provided (OR=0.29, 95% CI 0.13-0.45, P<0.001), and depression (OR= -0.20, 95% CI -0.39 to -0.01, P=0.034). Supplemental analyses suggested ElderTree may be more effective among people with multiple (vs. 0 or 1) chronic conditions. LIMITATIONS: Once randomized, participants were not blind to the condition; self-reports may be subject to memory bias. CONCLUSION: Interventions like ET may help improve quality of life and socio-emotional outcomes among older adults with more illness burden. Our next study focuses on this population. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ; registration ID number: NCT02128789.


Subject(s)
Quality of Life , Telemedicine , Activities of Daily Living , Aged , Chronic Disease , Humans , Surveys and Questionnaires
18.
Health Commun ; 37(4): 397-408, 2022 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33238732

ABSTRACT

Communicating within digital health interventions involves a range of behaviors that may contribute to the management of chronic illnesses in different ways. This study examines whether communication within a smartphone-based application for addiction recovery produces distinct effects depending on 1) the "level" of communication, defined as intraindividual communication (e.g., journal entries to oneself); dyadic communication (e.g., private messaging to other individuals); or network communication (e.g., discussion forum posts to all group members), and 2) whether individuals produce or are exposed to messages. We operationalize these communication levels and behaviors based on system use logs as the number of clicks dedicated to each activity and assess how each category of system use relates to changes in group bonding and substance use after 6 months with the mobile intervention. Our findings show that (1) intraindividual exposure to one's own past posts marginally predicts decreased drug use; (2) dyadic production predicts greater perceived bonding; while dyadic exposure marginally predicts reduced drug use; (3) network production predicts decreased risky drinking. Implications for digital health interventions are discussed.


Subject(s)
Substance-Related Disorders , Text Messaging , Chronic Disease , Communication , Humans
19.
Proc ACM Hum Comput Interact ; 6(CSCW2)2022 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36816014

ABSTRACT

Adopting new psychological strategies to improve mental wellness can be challenging since people are often unable to anticipate how new habits are applicable to their circumstances. Narrative-based interventions have the potential to alleviate this burden by illustrating psychological principles in an applied context. In this work, we explore how stories can be delivered via the ubiquitous and scalable medium of text messaging. Through formative work consisting of interviews and focus group discussions with 15 participants, we identified desirable elements of stories about mental health, including authenticity and relatability. We then deployed story-based text messages to 42 participants to explore challenges regarding both the stories' content (e.g., specific versus generalized) and format (e.g., story length). We observed that our stories helped participants reflect on and identify flaws in their thinking patterns. Our findings highlight design implications and opportunities for mental wellness interventions that utilize stories in text messaging services.

20.
Front Digit Health ; 3: 651749, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34713124

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Weight loss apps to date have not directly addressed binge eating. To inform the design of a new mobile behavioral intervention that addresses binge eating and weight management, we applied user-centered design methods to qualitatively assess how target intervention consumers experience these conditions in their day-to-day lives. Methods: The participants were 22 adults with self-reported obesity (body mass index ≥30) and recurrent binge eating (≥12 episodes in 3 months) who were interested in losing weight and reducing binge eating. The participants completed a digital diary study, which is a user-centered design technique for capturing individuals' day-to-day experiences in relevant contexts. Qualitative data describing the participants' experiences with binge eating and obesity were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results were then used to create personas (i.e., character archetypes of different intervention consumers). Results: The participants described triggers for binge eating and indicated that binge eating and excess weight negatively impact their mental health, physical health, and quality of life. The resulting personas reflected five different struggles individuals with these health problems experience in managing their binge eating and weight. Conclusions: Individuals with binge eating and obesity have varying precipitants of problematic eating as well as varying motivations for and challenges to behavior change. To meet the needs of all who seek intervention, an ideal intervention design will account for variations in these factors and be relevant to diverse experiences. Insights from the diary study and resulting personas will inform the next phases of the user-centered design process of iteratively designing prototypes and testing the intervention in practice.

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