ArticleJMIR human factors2020
Engagement and Usability of a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Mobile App Compared With Web-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Among College Students: Randomized Heuristic Trial.
Article in JMIR human factors, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Analyzing metaverse-based digital therapies, their effectiveness, and potential risks in mental healthcare.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance of Digital Mental Health Interventions for College Students: A Systematic Review.Current psychiatry reports · 2024Pooled it
- Impact of Conversational and Animation Features of a Mental Health App Virtual Agent on Depressive Symptoms and User Experience Among College Students: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mental health · 2025Trial
- Real-world data on uptake and use of digital mental health interventions among waitlisted patients with various mental disorders.Internet interventions · 2026Article
- Development and usability evaluation of an audio-based cognitive behavioral therapy mobile app for depression in hemodialysis patients.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Do engagement and behavioural mechanisms underpin the effectiveness of the Drink Less app?NPJ digital medicine · 2024Article
- The NeoRoo mobile app: Initial design and prototyping of an Android-based digital health tool to support Kangaroo Mother Care in low/middle-income countries (LMICs).PLOS digital health · 2023Article
- Effects of a Smartphone-Based, Multisession Interpretation-Bias Modification for Anxiety: Positive Intervention Effects and Low Attrition.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Operationalizing Engagement With an Interpretation Bias Smartphone App Intervention: Case Series.JMIR mental health · 2022Article
- Challenges in Participant Engagement and Retention Using Mobile Health Apps: Literature Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Review
- REDCap Delivery of a Web-Based Intervention for Patients With Voice Disorders: Usability Study.JMIR human factors · 2022Article
- Implementation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in e-Mental Health Apps: Literature Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Review
- Opportunities to Integrate Mobile App-Based Interventions Into Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Services in the Wake of COVID-19.American journal of health promotion : AJHP · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundRecent evidence in mobile health has demonstrated that, in some cases, apps are an effective way to improve health care delivery. Health care interventions delivered via mobile technology have demonstrated both practicality and affordability. Lately, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions delivered over the internet have also shown a meaningful impact on patients with anxiety and depression.
objectiveGiven the growing proliferation of smartphones and the trust in apps to support improved health behaviors and outcomes, we were interested in comparing a mobile app with Web-based methods for the delivery of CBT. This study aimed to compare the usability of a CBT mobile app called MoodTrainer with an evidence-based website called MoodGYM.
methodsWe used convenience sampling to recruit 30 students from a large Midwestern university and randomly assigned them to either the MoodGYM or MoodTrainer user group. The trial period ran for 2 weeks, after which the students completed a self-assessment survey based on Nielsen heuristics. Statistical analysis was performed to compare the survey results from the 2 groups. We also compared the number of modules attempted or completed and the time spent on CBT strategies.
resultsThe results indicate that the MoodTrainer app received a higher usability score when compared with MoodGYM. Overall, 87% (13/15) of the participants felt that it was easy to navigate through the MoodTrainer app compared with 80% (12/15) of the MoodGYM participants. All MoodTrainer participants agreed that the app was easy to use and did not require any external assistance, whereas only 67% (10/15) had the same opinion for MoodGYM. Furthermore, 67% (10/15) of the MoodTrainer participants found that the navigation controls were easy to locate compared with 80% (12/15) of the MoodGYM participants. MoodTrainer users, on average, completed 2.5 modules compared with 1 module completed by MoodGYM users.
conclusionsAs among the first studies to directly compare the usability of a mobile app-based CBT with smartphone-specific features against a Web-based CBT, there is an opportunity for app-based CBT as, at least in our limited trial, it was more usable and engaging. The study was limited to evaluate usability only and not the clinical effectiveness of the app.
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