ArticlePLOS digital health2022
Mobile phone-based interventions for mental health: A systematic meta-review of 14 meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.
Article in PLOS digital health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 116 papers, 12 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
116 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis on the efficacy and potential of mobile interventions for stress management.Nature human behaviour · 2025Pooled it
- Consumer-Grade Neurofeedback With Mindfulness Meditation: Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Characteristics and Outcomes of mHealth Interventions in Psychosis: Systematic Mapping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Mobile phone interventions to improve health outcomes among patients with chronic diseases: an umbrella review and evidence synthesis from 34 meta-analyses.The Lancet. Digital health · 2024Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Web-Based Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Patients With Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- The efficacy of mindfulness apps on symptoms of depression and anxiety: An updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Clinical psychology review · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The Use of Mobile Assessments for Monitoring Mental Health in Youth: Umbrella Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled 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
- Cognitive training and remediation interventions for substance use disorders: a Delphi consensus study.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2023Pooled it
- Providing Human Support for the Use of Digital Mental Health Interventions: Systematic Meta-review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy of Smartphone Apps in Patients With Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- The Effectiveness of Brief Meditation Assisted with Cardiac Biofeedback on Interoceptive Accuracy, Sensibility and Awareness: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Trial
- Comparative Effectiveness of Three Digital Interventions for Adults Seeking Psychiatric Services: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Effects of a Digital Mental Health Intervention on Perceived Stress and Rumination in Adolescents Aged 13 to 17 Years: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- How often should I meditate? A randomized trial examining the role of meditation frequency when total amount of meditation is held constant.Journal of counseling psychology · 2024Trial
- Preliminary Efficacy of a Digital Intervention for Adolescent Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- Effects of a digital self-efficacy training in stressed university students: A randomized controlled trial.PloS one · 2024Trial
- A Seeking Safety Mobile App for Recovery from PTSD and Substance Use Disorder: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.Substance use & misuse · 2024Trial
- Trial
56 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Mobile phone-based interventions have been proposed as a means for reducing the burden of disease associated with mental illness. While numerous randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses have investigated this possibility, evidence remains unclear. We conducted a systematic meta-review of meta-analyses examining mobile phone-based interventions tested in randomized controlled trials. We synthesized results from 14 meta-analyses representing 145 randomized controlled trials and 47,940 participants. We identified 34 effect sizes representing unique pairings of participants, intervention, comparisons, and outcome (PICO) and graded the strength of the evidence as using umbrella review methodology. We failed to find convincing evidence of efficacy (i.e.,
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.