User experience and acceptance of patients and healthy adults testing a personalized self-management app for depression: A non-randomized mixed-methods feasibility study

Gwendolyn Mayer; Svenja Hummel; Neele Oetjen; Nadine Gronewold; Stefan Bubolz; Kim Blankenhagel; Mathias Slawik; Rüdiger Zarnekow; Thomas Hilbel; Jobst-Hendrik Schultz

doi:10.1177/20552076221091353

User experience and acceptance of patients and healthy adults testing a personalized self-management app for depression: A non-randomized mixed-methods feasibility study

Digit Health. 2022 Apr 7:8:20552076221091353. doi: 10.1177/20552076221091353. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.

Affiliations

¹ Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
² Information and Communication Management, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
³ medisite GmbH, Hanover, Germany.
⁴ Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Abstract

Objective: Previous studies have shown positive treatment outcomes of e-mental health applications targeting depression. However, few applications provide personalized features. The aim of the present study is to ask for the user experience and acceptance of patients with depression and healthy adults, who tested the self-management app Self-administered Psycho Therapy SystemS over a period of 5 days. The results serve as a source for evidence-based recommendations for developers and clinicians.

Methods: A total of 110 participants (41 patients and 69 healthy controls) tested the app Self-administered Psycho Therapy SystemS over a period of 5 days and completed evaluation sheets developed for the purpose of this study. Quantitative measures were asked with 5-point Likert-scaled items (range: -2 to + 2) for the perceived quality of the programme and its components, its practicality (both referred to as user experience) and its acceptance. Student's t-tests and Pearson correlations were calculated for group comparisons and associations, respectively. Open text fields were analysed by applying a qualitative structuring content analysis.

Results: The perceived quality of the total programme was rated with M = 0.96 (SD = 0.82), the practicality was M = 0.84 (SD = 0.08) and the acceptance was M = 0.25 (SD = 1.04). Patients rated perceived quality of the total programme and acceptance higher than healthy adults, while there was no difference in practicality. Acceptance was associated with increased depression scores (r = 0.33, p = .01), higher scores of perceived quality of the total programme (r = 0.48, p< .001) and of practicality (r = 0.45, p < .001). Feedback of both groups regarding usability, therapeutic content and personalization revealed a strong wish for guidance and insights into mood progress, opportunities for choice of interventions and features of customization for individualized treatment.

Conclusions: Patients with depression accepted the app Self-administered Psycho Therapy SystemS more than healthy adults and gave higher ratings in quality. User experience of all users shows a need for features of guidance, choice and personalization that clinicians and developers of future apps should pay attention to.

Keywords: anxiety; apps; depression; eHealth; mixed methods; personalized medicine; psychology; self-monitoring; telemedicine.