Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38420028›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in public health2024

Mobile applications in adolescent psychotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.

Sarah Wüllner, Katharin Hermenau, Mariya Krutkova, Ira-Katharina Petras, Tobias Hecker, Michael Siniatchkin

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
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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

6 authors.

Sarah WüllnerUniversity Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Protestant Hospital Bethel, Bielefeld University, Medical School East Westphalia, Bielefeld, Germany.
Katharin HermenauUniversity Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Protestant Hospital Bethel, Bielefeld University, Medical School East Westphalia, Bielefeld, Germany.
Mariya KrutkovaUniversity Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Protestant Hospital Bethel, Bielefeld University, Medical School East Westphalia, Bielefeld, Germany.
Ira-Katharina PetrasUniversity Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Protestant Hospital Bethel, Bielefeld University, Medical School East Westphalia, Bielefeld, Germany.
Tobias HeckerInstitute for Interdisciplinary Conflict and Violence Research, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Michael SiniatchkinUniversity Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Protestant Hospital Bethel, Bielefeld University, Medical School East Westphalia, Bielefeld, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: To bridge the gap in adolescent psychotherapy created by the increasing need for mental health interventions and the limited possibilities of in-person treatment during the pandemic, many health care providers opted to offer online mental health care programs. As a result, the number of mental health apps available in app stores experienced a sharp increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: The aim of the current review is to provide an overview of feasibility and effectiveness studies testing mobile applications in adolescent psychotherapy during the peak phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We conducted a literature search in Pubmed, PsychInfo, Google Scholar, OpenSIGLE and OpenGREY for papers published from June 2020 to June 2023. Studies were included if they evaluated app-based interventions intended for psychotherapeutic treatment and targeted adolescents between 12 and 27 years of age with symptoms of psychological disorders. The quality of each study was assessed using the Systematic Assessment of Quality in Observational Research (SAQOR). Effectiveness outcomes were analyzed by vote counting and calculating a binomial probability test. Results: The search yielded 31 relevant studies that examined 27 different apps with a total of 1,578 adolescent participants. Nine articles were primary effectiveness studies and 22 focused on feasibility measures as primary outcome. There was evidence that mental health apps influenced adolescents' psychotherapy, with 83% of the studies with effectiveness outcomes favoring the intervention ( Conclusions: The pandemic has given apps a firm and important role in healthcare that will probably continue to expand in the future. To ensure that mental health apps are truly effective and beneficial for adolescents' psychotherapy, we need a standardized measurement of quality features of mental health apps and higher quality app evaluation studies. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=406455, PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews [CRD42023406455].

Indexed as

COVID-19Mobile ApplicationsPsychotherapyAdolescentChildHumansMental DisordersSARS-CoV-2TelemedicineYoung Adultadolescentappeffectivenessfeasibilitymental healthmHealthpsychotherapyyouth

Identifiers

PMID38420028
PMCPMC10899334

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.