ReviewInternet interventions2021
Engagement with mobile health interventions for depression: A systematic review.
Review in Internet interventions, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 4 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
44 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Optimizing Workplace Digital Mental Health Interventions: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Exploring the Role of Mobile Apps for Insomnia in Depression: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- User Engagement With mHealth Interventions to Promote Treatment Adherence and Self-Management in People With Chronic Health Conditions: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 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
- Characterizing Behavioral Engagement in Smartphone Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2026Trial
- Mobile intervention to address cannabis use disorder among black adults: A proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial.Behaviour research and therapy · 2025Trial
- Enhancing Engagement, Practice Integration, and Skill Learning in Mobile Technology-Delivered Interventions Using Human Support: Randomized Controlled Trial With Depressed College Students.JMIR formative research · 2025Trial
- Patterns of Engagement With the mHealth Component of a Sexual and Reproductive Health Risk Reduction Intervention for Young People With Depression: Latent Trajectory Analysis.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Trial
- A randomized trial of an app-enhanced group cognitive behavioral therapy for adolescents with mood or psychotic spectrum disorders.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2025Trial
- A Randomized Evaluation of MoodFX, a Patient-Centred e-Health Tool to Support Outcome Measurement for Depression: Une évaluation randomisée de MoodFX, un outil de santé en ligne centré sur le patient pour soutenir la mesure du résultat dans la dépression.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Predicting the Users' Level of Engagement with a Smartphone Application for Smoking Cessation: Randomized Trial and Machine Learning Analysis.European addiction research · 2023Trial
- Analyzing the Impact of Mobile App Engagement on Mental Health Outcomes: Secondary Analysis of the Unwinding Anxiety Program.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- Beyond Usage Time: Rethinking Therapeutic Dose and Effect in Digital Therapeutics.JMIR mental health · 2026Article
- Engagement and Intersectionality in Digital Self-Management Interventions for Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Family Engagement in a Digital Intervention Targeting Risk for Anxiety in Parent-Child Dyads: Mixed Methods Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2026Article
- Home-Based Digital Healthcare Interventions for Dementia: A Systematic Review of Patient and Family Caregiver Outcomes.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Young people's compliance with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM): Examining patterns, predictors and associations with well-being and mental health.Internet interventions · 2025Article
- Digital Health Interventions for Depression and Anxiety in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Rapid Scoping Review.JMIR mental health · 2025Article
- Efficacy of mobile applications in treating depression: systemic review and meta-analysis.BJPsych bulletin · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDepressive disorders are a major public health problem, and many people face barriers to accessing evidence-based mental health treatment. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions may circumvent logistical barriers to in-person care (e.g., cost, transportation), however the symptoms of depression (low motivation, concentration difficulties) may make it difficult for people with the disorder to engage with mHealth.
objectiveThe aim of this systematic review is to examine assessment and reporting of engagement in clinical trials of mHealth interventions for depression, including objective engagement (e.g., number of times program is used), subjective engagement (e.g., qualitative data on users' experiences), and associations between engagement and other clinically important variables (e.g., symptom improvement, participant characteristics).
methodsThree electronic databases (PsycINFO, Web of Science, PubMed) were searched in February 2020 using search terms for mHealth and depression. Studies were included in the review if they tested a mHealth intervention designed for people with depressive disorders or elevated depression symptoms.
resultsThirty studies met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Most studies reported objective engagement (
conclusionsAlthough most studies in this small but rapidly growing literature report at least one measure of engagement, there is substantial heterogeneity. Intentional, theory-driven, and consistent measurement of engagement with mHealth interventions for depression may advance the field's understanding of effective engagement to facilitate clinical improvement, identify dose-response relationships, and maximize generalizability for underserved populations.
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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.