ArticlePloS one2022
Real world effectiveness of digital mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 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
25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors Influencing the Engagement with Electronic Mental Health Technologies: A Systematic Review of Reviews.Administration and policy in mental health · 2025Pooled it
- Next-Generation Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Depression: Integrating Digital Tools, Teletherapy, and Personalization for Enhanced Mental Health Outcomes.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Pooled it
- Enhancing Sleep and Mental Health: Longitudinal, Observational, Real-World Study From a Digital Mental Health Platform.JMIR formative research · 2026Observational
- Engagement of people with lived experience in the design and development of digital mental health interventions: A scoping review of engagement characteristics and impacts.Internet interventions · 2026Review
- Digital Health for Australia: Bridging the Rural, Regional, and Remote Health Gap.Interactive journal of medical research · 2025Article
- Adapting the World Health Organization 5 Well-Being Index for Emergency Activation and Response Planning in a US Health Care Setting.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Innovations, quality & outcomes · 2025Article
- Addressing the Gap: Real-World Evidence of Technology-Enabled Coaching Services for Mental Health.Administration and policy in mental health · 2025Article
- A Scoping Review of AI-Driven Digital Interventions in Mental Health Care: Mapping Applications Across Screening, Support, Monitoring, Prevention, and Clinical Education.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Co-designing a peer support programme for carers of people treated under the Mental Health Act: views from stakeholders.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- A comprehensive review of mental health services across selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa: assessing progress, challenges, and future direction.Discover mental health · 2025Review
- COVID-19 pandemic and access to mental healthcare: A qualitative study of the experiences of mental healthcare providers and caregivers in Ghana.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Improvements in physical activity and depression symptoms: an observational study of users of a multi-modal digital mental health platform.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
- Utilization, Satisfaction, and Clinical Outcomes of People of Color and White Adults Using an Employer-Sponsored Digital Mental Health Platform.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Observational
- How Digital Solutions Might Provide a World of New Opportunities for Holistic and Empathic Support of Patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa.Dermatology and therapy · 2024Article
- The Impact of Digital Mental Health Services on Loneliness and Mental Health: Results from a Prospective, Observational Study.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2024Observational
- From face-to-face to screen-to-screen: exploring the multifaceted dimensions of digital mental health care.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Hope amidst crisis: exploring perinatal mental health and family dynamics in out-of-home care through virtual assessments during the UK COVID-19 response.Frontiers in global women's health · 2024Article
- Factors influencing mental health service delivery during public health emergencies: a scoping review protocol.HRB open research · 2024Article
- Application of a Digital Mental Health Clinic in Secondary Schools: Functionality and Effectiveness Evaluation.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Understanding the potential of digital therapies in implementing the standard of care for depression in Europe.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2023Article
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 at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented need for mental health services that can be remotely delivered. Digital mental health services that offer personalized care recommendations hold promise to efficiently expand service, but evidence of the effectiveness of digitally delivered mental health care in real-world settings remains limited.
methodsA retrospective cohort of adults (N = 1,852) receiving care through a digital mental health platform with elevated depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic was analyzed to estimate changes in subjective well-being and clinical improvement in depressive symptoms (using the World Health Organization-Five [WHO-5] Well-Being Index), as well as compare the relative effectiveness and cost of different care utilization patterns.
resultsThe average improvement in WHO-5 score was 10.1 points (CI: 9.3-10.9, p<0.001) at follow-up, which constituted a medium effect size (d = 0.73). The odds of clinical improvement in depressive symptoms were significantly greater among those who utilized telecoaching (aOR = 2.45, 95%CI: 1.91-3.15, p < .001), teletherapy (aOR = 2.01, 95%CI: 1.57-2.57, p < .001), and both services (aOR = 2.28, 95%CI: 1.67-3.11, p < .001) compared to those who only utilized assessments, adjusting for baseline WHO-5 score, age, sex, and number of days between baseline and follow-up assessments. The average estimated cost of care for telecoaching was $124 per individual, which was significantly less than teletherapy ($413) or both services ($559).
conclusionDigitally delivered care with a therapist and/or coach was effective in improving subjective well-being and clinical improvement in depressive symptoms. Although clinical outcomes were similar across utilization patterns, the cost of care was lowest among those utilizing telecoaching.
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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.