title: Using Smartphone Apps to Promote Psychiatric and Physical Well-Being.
abstract: This pilot study tested the acceptability and usability of a prototype app designed to promote the physical well-being of adults with psychiatric disorders. The application under evaluation, WellWave, promoted walking as a physical exercise, and offered a variety of supportive non-physical activities, including confidential text-messaging with peer staff, and a digital library of readings and videos on recovery from psychiatric illness. Study participants engaged strongly in the app throughout the 4-week study, showing a 94 % mean daily usage rate, and a 73 % mean response rate across all electronic messages and prompts, which approximates the gold standard of 75 % for momentary ecological assessment studies. Seven of the ten study participants averaged two or more walks per week, beginning with 5-min walks and ending with walks lasting 20 min or longer. This responsiveness to the walking prompts, and the overall high rate of engagement in other app features, suggest that adults with psychiatric conditions would welcome and benefit from similar smartphone interventions that promote healthy behaviours in life domains other than exercise. Pilot study results also suggest that smartphone applications can be useful as research tools in the development and testing of theories and practical strategies for encouraging healthy lifestyles. Participants were prompted periodically to rate their own health quality, perceived control over their health, and stage-of-change in adopting a walking routine, and these electronic self-ratings showed acceptable concurrent and discriminant validity, with all participants reporting moderate to high motivation to exercise by the end of the study.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. cmacias@mclean.harvard.edu.|McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA. cmacias@mclean.harvard.edu.
authors: Cathaleene
authors: C
authors: Macias
authors: Wellframe, Boston, MA, USA. trishan@wellfra.me.
authors: Trishan
authors: T
authors: Panch
authors: Waverley Place at Waverley Square, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA. yhicks@partners.org.
authors: Yale M
authors: YM
authors: Hicks
authors: Waverley Place at Waverley Square, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA. jscolnick@partners.org.
authors: Jason S
authors: JS
authors: Scolnick
authors: Waverley Place at Waverley Square, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA. dweene@partners.org.
authors: David Lyle
authors: DL
authors: Weene
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. dongur@mclean.harvard.edu.|Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA. dongur@mclean.harvard.edu.
authors: Dost
authors: D
authors: Öngür
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. bcohen@mclean.harvard.edu.|Program for Neuropsychiatric Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA. bcohen@mclean.harvard.edu.
authors: Bruce M
authors: BM
authors: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D030141:Feedback, Psychological; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D057566:Self Report; D000068997:Smartphone; D060145:Text Messaging; D016138:Walking; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Exercise stage-of-change; Global health rating; Health promotion; Perceived health control; Smartphones; Walking exercise
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