GPs' attitudes towards digital technologies for depression : an online survey in primary care

BACKGROUND: Digital or electronic mental health (e-mental health) interventions can be useful approaches in reducing the burden of depression, with tools available for use in prevention, treatment, or relapse prevention. They may have specific benefit for primary care, as depression is often managed in this setting. However, little is known about attitudes and barriers among GPs towards e-mental health interventions for depression. AIM: This study aimed to assess attitudes, knowledge, use, and barriers for depression-focused e-mental health among GPs across the UK. DESIGN AND SETTING: An online survey of self-selecting GPs in the UK conducted over a 10-day period in December 2017. METHOD: The survey consisted of 13 multiple choice questions posted on the Doctors.net.uk (DNUK) website. RESULTS: In all, 1044 responses were included; 72% of GPs reported using at least one type of e-mental health intervention for depression. Overall, GPs reported that e-mental health interventions are most effective when delivered in a guided way, rather than in an unguided manner. In addition, 92% of GPs reported that neither they nor their colleagues received e-mental health training. CONCLUSION: A moderate number of GPs use e-mental health for depression in their services, and report it is likely that its use will increase. There is a gap in training and awareness of effective interventions. GPs consider guided e-mental health interventions to be most effective, in contrast to the unguided way it is mostly offered in primary care

Monitoring symptoms at home: What methods would cancer patients be comfortable using?

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine which methods of remote symptom assessment cancer outpatients would be comfortable using, including those involving information technology, and whether this varied with age and gender. METHODS: A questionnaire survey of 477 outpatients attending the Edinburgh Cancer Centre in Edinburgh, UK. RESULTS: Most patients reported that they would not feel comfortable using methods involving technology such as a secure website, email, mobile phone text message, or a computer voice on the telephone but that they would be more comfortable using more traditional methods such as a paper questionnaire, speaking to a nurse on the telephone, or giving information in person. CONCLUSIONS: The uptake of new, potentially cost-effective technology-based methods of monitoring patients' symptoms at home might be limited by patients' initial discomfort with the idea of using them. It will be important to develop methods of addressing this potential barrier (such as detailed explanation and supervised practice) if these methods are to be successfully implemented

Is self-guided internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) harmful? An individual participant data meta-analysis

Background Little is known about potential harmful effects as a consequence of self-guided internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy (iCBT), such as symptom deterioration rates. Thus, safety concerns remain and hamper the implementation of self-guided iCBT into clinical practice. We aimed to conduct an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis to determine the prevalence of clinically significant deterioration (symptom worsening) in adults with depressive symptoms who received self-guided iCBT compared with control conditions. Several socio-demographic, clinical and study-level variables were tested as potential moderators of deterioration. Methods Randomised controlled trials that reported results of self-guided iCBT compared with control conditions in adults with symptoms of depression were selected. Mixed effects models with participants nested within studies were used to examine possible clinically significant deterioration rates. Results Thirteen out of 16 eligible trials were included in the present IPD meta-analysis. Of the 3805 participants analysed, 7.2% showed clinically significant deterioration (5.8% and 9.1% of participants in the intervention and control groups, respectively). Participants in self-guided iCBT were less likely to deteriorate (OR 0.62, p < 0.001) compared with control conditions. None of the examined participant- and study-level moderators were significantly associated with deterioration rates. Conclusions Self-guided iCBT has a lower rate of negative outcomes on symptoms than control conditions and could be a first step treatment approach for adult depression as well as an alternative to watchful waiting in general practice.This work was funded by the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Program (grant 603098 for the E-COMPARED project). At the time of the study, Dr K. Griffiths was supported by National Health & Medical Research Counselling Fellowship 1059620

A Data-Driven Clustering Method for Discovering Profiles in the Dynamics of Major Depressive Disorder Using a Smartphone-Based Ecological Momentary Assessment of Mood.

BACKGROUND: Although major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by a pervasive negative mood, research indicates that the mood of depressed patients is rarely entirely stagnant. It is often dynamic, distinguished by highs and lows, and it is highly responsive to external and internal regulatory processes. Mood dynamics can be defined as a combination of mood variability (the magnitude of the mood changes) and emotional inertia (the speed of mood shifts). The purpose of this study is to explore various distinctive profiles in real-time monitored mood dynamics among MDD patients in routine mental healthcare. METHODS: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data were collected as part of the cross-European E-COMPARED trial, in which approximately half of the patients were randomly assigned to receive the blended Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (bCBT). In this study a subsample of the bCBT group was included (n = 287). As part of bCBT, patients were prompted to rate their current mood (on a 1-10 scale) using a smartphone-based EMA application. During the first week of treatment, the patients were prompted to rate their mood on three separate occasions during the day. Latent profile analyses were subsequently applied to identify distinct profiles based on average mood, mood variability, and emotional inertia across the monitoring period. RESULTS: Overall, four profiles were identified, which we labeled as: (1) "very negative and least variable mood" (n = 14) (2) "negative and moderate variable mood" (n = 204), (3) "positive and moderate variable mood" (n = 41), and (4) "negative and highest variable mood" (n = 28). The degree of emotional inertia was virtually identical across the profiles. CONCLUSIONS: The real-time monitoring conducted in the present study provides some preliminary indications of different patterns of both average mood and mood variability among MDD patients in treatment in mental health settings. Such varying patterns were not found for emotional inertia

Self-directed approaches to the treatment of depression

This article examines self-directed approaches to the treatment of depression. It first considers some of the reasons why the uptake of mental health services by depressed people is low, despite the high prevalence of depressive disorders and the availability of evidence-based treatments. It then looks at the role of self-management in increasing access to evidence-based treatments for depression. It also defines what self-directed treatments are and goes on to discuss the different types of self-directed therapy, the common components of self-directed interventions for depression, internet-based interventions for depression, and the advantages and disadvantages of self-directed interventions. Finally, it summarizes the findings from research on self-directed interventions for depression and suggests directions for future research and development in this area. Some titles of self-help books that can be used in self-directed interventions are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved

The Moderating Role of Sex in the Relation between Cue-Induced Craving and Resting-State Functional Connectivity in the Salience Network of Non-Clinically Diagnosed Drinkers

Introduction: Previous research indicates a relation between craving and increased connectivity in the resting-state salience network. However, the link between cue-induced craving and connectivity in the salience network remains unclear. Further investigation is needed to understand the effect of sex on the relationship between cue-induced craving and the salience network. We investigated the role of sex in the association between the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) salience network and subjective cue-induced craving. Methods: Twenty-six males (mean age = 25.3) and 23 females (mean age = 26.0), with a score of 12 or higher on the alcohol use disorder identification test, were included in the current study. No significant difference in age was observed between males and females. Participants underwent a resting-state MRI scan for 6 min. Following the MRI scan, participants completed an alcohol cue-exposure task for 5.5 min to assess cue-induced craving using the desire to drink alcohol questionnaire. We applied independent component analysis methods to determine functional connectivity within the salience network. Subsequently, we investigated how cue-induced craving is related to the salience network's RSFC and if this relationship is moderated by sex. Results: The association between the salience network and cue-induced craving was not statistically significant nor did we find a moderating effect for sex. Conclusion: The null findings in the study may be explained by a lack of power. Alternatively, alcohol use sex disparities may be more prevalent in the recreational/impulsive stage, whereas participants in our study were in the later stage of addiction.</p