Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38390026›Full record

ArticleCurrent treatment options in psychiatry2023

The engagement problem: A review of engagement with digital mental health interventions and recommendations for a path forward.

Jessica M Lipschitz, Chelsea K Pike, Timothy P Hogan, Susan A Murphy, Katherine E Burdick

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Current treatment options in psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07499219 (Developing a Web-based Transdiagnostic Single Session Intervention for Patients on Waiting Lists for Psychological Treatment), which is not on this map. Cited by 119 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
119citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT07499219 naenrolling by invitationnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Developing a Web-based Transdiagnostic Single Session Intervention for Patients on Waiting Lists for Psychological Treatment: a Randomized Pilot Feasibility Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of OsloRan2026 to 2034Enrolled80ConditionsDepression, AnxietyArmsDigital therapy program (short), Digital therapy program (long), Mental health advice
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

119 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  7. Optimizing the Work of Learning for Flourishing: A Randomized Pilot Study of a Digital CBT-Based Intervention in Medical Students.Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry · 2026
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59 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Jessica M LipschitzDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.
Chelsea K PikeDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.
Timothy P HoganCenter for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA.
Susan A MurphyHarvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Katherine E BurdickDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.

Funding

Pilot and Mentoring CoreP50DA054039 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Inbal Billie Nahum-Shani · 2021 to 2026
$18.2M
TR&D3 - Rapid Translation of AI-powered Temporally Precise mHealth Interventions via Efficient and Embeddable Trustworthy Biomarker ImplementationsP41EB028242 · NIBIB · UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS · PI Santosh Kumar · 2020 to 2026
$9.5M
Toward optimizing digital mental health interventions: A clinical trial aimed at understanding what drives patient engagement.K23MH120324 · NIMH · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI LIPSCHITZ, JESSICA MORROW · 2020 to 2024
$960k
NIBIB NIH HHS P41 EB028242NIDA NIH HHS P50 DA054039NIMH NIH HHS K23 MH120324
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose of the review: Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) are an effective and accessible means of addressing the unprecedented levels of mental illness worldwide. Currently, however, patient engagement with DMHIs in real-world settings is often insufficient to see clinical benefit. In order to realize the potential of DMHIs, there is a need to better understand what drives patient engagement. Recent findings: We discuss takeaways from the existing literature related to patient engagement with DMHIs and highlight gaps to be addressed through further research. Findings suggest that engagement is influenced by patient-, intervention- and systems-level factors. At the patient-level, variables such as sex, education, personality traits, race, ethnicity, age and symptom severity appear to be associated with engagement. At the intervention-level, integrating human support, gamification, financial incentives and persuasive technology features may improve engagement. Finally, although systems-level factors have not been widely explored, the existing evidence suggests that achieving engagement will require addressing organizational and social barriers and drawing on the field of implementation science. Summary: Future research clarifying the patient-, intervention- and systems-level factors that drive engagement will be essential. Additionally, to facilitate improved understanding of DMHI engagement, we propose the following: (a) widespread adoption of a minimum necessary 5-element engagement reporting framework; (b) broader application of alternative clinical trial designs; and (c) directed efforts to build upon an initial parsimonious conceptual model of DMHI engagement.

Indexed as

adherenceadoptiondigital interventionsengagementmodel of engagement.reporting guidelines

Identifiers

PMID38390026
PMCPMC10883589

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

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.