ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2020
Adherence to Established Treatment Guidelines Among Unguided Digital Interventions for Depression: Quality Evaluation of 28 Web-Based Programs and Mobile Apps.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Identifying Evidence-Based Strategies in a Digital Mental Health Intervention for Depression: Qualitative Content Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Supporting Clinicians in Implementing Exposure Therapy for Anxiety and Related Disorders.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- Views of German mental health professionals on the use of digital mental health interventions for eating disorders: a qualitative interview study.Journal of eating disorders · 2024Article
- Adaptation of ACTivate Your Wellbeing, a Digital Health and Well-being Program for Young Persons: Co-design Approach.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Education on Depression in Mental Health Apps: Systematic Assessment of Characteristics and Adherence to Evidence-Based Guidelines.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Review
- A Narrative Review of Empirical Literature of Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Review
- Validity and Reliability of the Self-administered Psycho-TherApy-SystemS (SELFPASS) Item Pool for the Daily Mood Tracking of Depressive Symptoms: Cross-sectional Web-Based Survey.JMIR mental health · 2021Article
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5 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundWeb-based interventions for depression have been widely tested for usability and functioning. However, the few studies that have addressed the therapeutic quality of these interventions have mainly focused on general aspects without consideration of specific quality factors related to particular treatment components. Clinicians and scientists are calling for standardized assessment criteria for web-based interventions to enable effective and trustworthy patient care. Therefore, an extensive evaluation of web-based interventions at the level of individual treatment components based on therapeutic guidelines and manuals is needed.
objectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of unguided web-based interventions for depression at the level of individual treatment components based on their adherence to current gold-standard treatment guidelines and manuals.
methodsA comprehensive online search of popular app stores and search engines in January 2018 revealed 11 desktop programs and 17 smartphone apps that met the inclusion criteria. Programs and apps were included if they were available for German users, interactive, unguided, and targeted toward depression. All programs and apps were tested by three independent researchers following a standardized procedure with a predefined symptom trajectory. During the testing, all web-based interventions were rated with a standardized list of criteria based on treatment guidelines and manuals for depression.
resultsOverall interrater reliability for all raters was substantial with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.73 and Gwet AC1 value of 0.80. The main features of web-based interventions included mood tracking (24/28, 86%), psychoeducation (21/28, 75%), cognitive restructuring (21/28, 75%), crisis management (20/28, 71%), behavioral activation (19/29, 68%), and relaxation training (18/28, 64%). Overall, therapeutic meaningfulness was rated higher for desktop programs (mean 4.13, SD 1.17) than for smartphone apps (mean 2.92, SD 1.46).
conclusionsAlthough many exercises from manuals are included in web-based interventions, the necessary therapeutic depth of the interventions is often not reached, and risk management is frequently lacking. There is a need for further research targeting general principles for the development and evaluation of therapeutically sound web-based interventions for depression.
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