ArticleJMIR formative research2021
Development and Feasibility of a Digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-Based Intervention for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Pilot Acceptability Study.
Article in JMIR formative research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Digital Mental Health Interventions for University Students With Mental Health Difficulties: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Early intervention in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- What Works to Improve Wellbeing? A Rapid Systematic Review of 223 Interventions Evaluated with the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scales.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Therapy Companion Mobile App for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Exercises (ACTaide): Therapist and Client Co-Design Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Digital Mental Health Interventions for Adolescents and Young People: Evaluating Efficacy and Accessibility.Cureus · 2025Review
- Combining Artificial Intelligence and Human Support in Mental Health: Digital Intervention With Comparable Effectiveness to Human-Delivered Care.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Developing Digital Mental Health Tools With Culturally Diverse Parents and Young People: Qualitative User-Centered Design Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2025Article
- A Narrative Review to Identify Promising Approaches for Digital Health Interventions to Support Emotion Regulation for Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.JMIR mental health · 2025Review
- From Digital Health to Digital Well-being: Systematic Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- Experience of symptom control, anxiety and associating factors in a palliative care unit evaluated with Support Team Assessment Schedule Japanese version.Scientific reports · 2021Observational
- The most used questionnaires for evaluating the usability of robots and smart wearables: A scoping review.Digital healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGeneralized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive worry that is difficult to control and has high comorbidity with mood disorders including depression. Individuals experience long wait times for diagnosis and often face accessibility barriers to treatment. There is a need for a digital solution that is accessible and acceptable to those with GAD.
objectiveThis paper aims to describe the development of a digital intervention prototype of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for GAD that sits within an existing well-being app platform, BioBase. A pilot feasibility study evaluating acceptability and usability is conducted in a sample of adults with a diagnosis of GAD, self-referred to the study.
methodsPhase 1 applied the person-based approach (creation of guiding principles, intervention design objectives, and the key intervention features). In Phase 2 participants received the app-based therapeutic and paired wearable for 2 weeks. Self-report questionnaires were obtained at baseline and posttreatment. The primary outcome was psychological flexibility (Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II [AAQ-II]) as this is the aim of ACT. Mental well-being (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale [WEMWBS]) and symptoms of anxiety (7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment [GAD-7]) and depression (9-item Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9]) were also assessed. Posttreatment usability was assessed via self-report measures (System Usability Scale [SUS]) in addition to interviews that further explored feasibility of the digital intervention in this sample.
resultsThe app-based therapeutic was well received. Of 13 participants, 10 (77%) completed the treatment. Results show a high usability rating (83.5). Participants found the digital intervention to be relevant, useful, and helpful in managing their anxiety. Participants had lower anxiety (d=0.69) and depression (d=0.84) scores at exit, and these differences were significantly different from baseline (P=.03 and .008 for GAD-7 and PHQ-9, respectively). Participants had higher psychological flexibility and well-being scores at exit, although these were not significantly different from baseline (P=.11 and .55 for AAQ-II and WEMWBS, respectively).
conclusionsThis ACT prototype within BioBase is an acceptable and feasible digital intervention in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. This study suggests that this intervention warrants a larger feasibility study in adults with GAD.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.