ArticleJMIR mental health2021
A Gamified Smartphone-Based Intervention for Depression: Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.
Article in JMIR mental health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Alexithymia in neurodevelopmental populations: a scoping review of Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and dual diagnosis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Gamified Health Promotion in Schools: The Integration of Neuropsychological Aspects and CBT-A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Pooled it
- Acceptability of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Depression and Anxiety: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Heterogeneity of Treatment Effects in Internet- and Mobile-Based Interventions for Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2024Pooled it
- Assessing Patient Adherence to and Engagement With Digital Interventions for Depression in Clinical Trials: Systematic Literature Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of a Smartphone-Based Positive Reflection Diary on Work Engagement Among Japanese Workers: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Trial
- The effects of cognitive training on driving performance.Cognitive processing · 2025Trial
- Improving Adherence to Psychotherapy and Clinical Outcome in Patients With Late-Life Depression Through Gamified mHealth Technology.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2026Article
- A meta-analysis of persuasive design, engagement, and efficacy in 92 RCTs of mental health apps.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- The EmpkinS-EKSpression Reappraisal Training Augmented With Kinesthesia in Depression: One-Armed Feasibility Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of adverse events in clinical trials of mental health apps.NPJ digital medicine · 2024Article
- The Digital Platform and Its Emerging Role in Decentralized Clinical Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Framework proposal for Role-Playing Games as mental health intervention: the Critical Skills methodology.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Sadness-Based Approach-Avoidance Modification Training for Subjective Stress in Adults: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Efficacy, Safety, and Evaluation Criteria of mHealth Interventions for Depression: Systematic Review.JMIR mental health · 2023Review
- Evaluating the feasibility and exploring the efficacy of an emotion-based approach-avoidance modification training (eAAMT) in the context of perceived stress in an adult sample - protocol of a parallel randomized controlled pilot study.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2023Article
- Cognitive reappraisal in mHealth interventions to foster mental health in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in digital health · 2023Review
- Personalization strategies in digital mental health interventions: a systematic review and conceptual framework for depressive symptoms.Frontiers in digital health · 2023Review
- The Effect of Mental Health App Customization on Depressive Symptoms in College Students: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mental health · 2022Article
- A Mental Health Chatbot with Cognitive Skills for Personalised Behavioural Activation and Remote Health Monitoring.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAvailable smartphone-based interventions for depression predominantly use evidence-based strategies from cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), but patient engagement and reported effect sizes are small. Recently, studies have demonstrated that smartphone-based interventions combining CBT with gamified approach-avoidance bias modification training (AAMT) can foster patient engagement and reduce symptoms of several mental health problems.
objectiveBased on these findings, we developed a gamified smartphone-based intervention, mentalis Phoenix (MT-Phoenix), and hypothesized the program would both engage patients and produce preliminary evidence for the reduction of depressive symptoms.
methodsTo test this hypothesis, we evaluated MT-Phoenix in a randomized controlled pilot trial including 77 individuals with elevated depression scores (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scores ≥5). Participants were either instructed to train for 14 days with MT-Phoenix or assigned to a waitlist control condition. Engagement with the intervention was measured by assessing usage data. The primary outcome was reduction in depressive symptom severity at postassessment.
resultsData from this pilot trial shows that participants in the intervention group used the smartphone-based intervention for 46% of all days (6.4/14) and reported a significantly greater reduction of depressive symptoms than did participants in the control condition (F
conclusionsA gamified smartphone-based intervention combining CBT with AAMT may foster patient engagement and effectively target depressive symptoms. Future studies should evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention in a phase 3 trial using clinical samples. Moreover, the intervention should be compared to active control conditions.
trial registrationGerman Clinical Trial Registry DRKS00012769; https://tinyurl.com/47mw8du7.
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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.