Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31019722›Full record

ReviewDigital health

Efficacy of mobile application interventions for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder: A systematic review.

Alice Wickersham, Petros Minas Petrides, Victoria Williamson, Daniel Leightley

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
7.5field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

33 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Effects of mhealth applications on military personnel's physical and mental health: A systematic review.Military psychology : the official journal of the Division of Military Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2025
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  20. PeerJ · 2023
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Alice WickershamKing's Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Petros Minas PetridesDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Victoria WilliamsonKing's Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Daniel LeightleyKing's Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9512-752X
King's College London · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMany adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are unable to access healthcare services for treatment due to logistical, social, and attitudinal barriers. Interventions delivered via mobile applications (apps) may help overcome these barriers.

objectiveThe aim of this study is to systematically evaluate the most recent evidence from trials investigating the efficacy of mobile apps for treating PTSD.

methodsPubMed, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, and Medline were searched in February 2018. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were included if they quantitatively evaluated the efficacy of a mobile app for treating PTSD as part of the primary aim. Findings were presented in a narrative synthesis.

resultsIn the five identified RCTs, the use of app-based interventions appeared to be associated with reductions in PTSD symptoms. However, the strength of evidence for this association appeared to be inconsistent, and there was little evidence that those using the apps experienced greater reductions in PTSD symptoms than those in control conditions. Nonetheless, there was some evidence that app-based interventions are both a feasible and acceptable treatment pathway option.

conclusionsIncluded studies were often limited by small sample sizes, brief intervention, and follow-up periods, and self-reported measures of PTSD. Evidence for the efficacy of mobile interventions for treating PTSD was inconclusive, but promising. Healthcare professionals should exercise caution in recommending app-based interventions until the potentially adverse effects of app use are better understood and larger-scale studies have taken place.

Indexed as

mental healthmobile healthmobile phonePTSDreview

Identifiers

PMID31019722
PMCPMC6463234
OpenAlexW2936866248

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.