ArticleJMIR formative research2024
Nudges and Prompts Increase Engagement in Self-Guided Digital Health Treatment for Depression and Anxiety: Results From a 3-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial.
Article in JMIR formative research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trial
- Association Between Behavioral Phenotypes and Paid Subscription and Renewal Among New mHealth App Users: Six-Month Prospective Cohort Study.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
- The role of behavioral nudges in sustaining public health engagement through the "Tawakkalna" app: insights from healthcare professionals.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Feasibility trial of an unguided ultra-brief online psychological intervention within an online mental health clinic: The "things you do" intervention.Internet interventions · 2025Article
- Developing a Behavioral Phenotyping Layer for Artificial Intelligence-Driven Predictive Analytics in a Digital Resiliency Course: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Acceptability and Usability of a Digital Behavioral Health Platform for Youth at Risk of Suicide: User-Centered Design Study With Patients, Practitioners, and Business Gatekeepers.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Health Care Professionals' Engagement With Digital Mental Health Interventions in the United Kingdom and China: Mixed Methods Study on Engagement Factors and Design Implications.JMIR mental health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAccessible and effective approaches to mental health treatment are important because of common barriers such as cost, stigma, and provider shortage. The effectiveness of self-guided treatment is well established, and its use has intensified because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Engagement remains important as dose-response relationships have been observed. Platforms such as Facebook (Meta Platform, Inc), LinkedIn (Microsoft Corp), and X Corp (formerly known as Twitter, Inc) use principles of behavioral economics to increase engagement. We hypothesized that similar concepts would increase engagement in self-guided digital health.
objectiveThis 3-arm randomized controlled trial aimed to test whether members of 2 digital self-health courses for anxiety and depression would engage with behavioral nudges and prompts. Our primary hypothesis was that members would click on 2 features: tips and a to-do checklist. Our secondary hypothesis was that members would prefer to engage with directive tips in arm 2 versus social proof and present bias tips in arm 3. Our tertiary hypothesis was that rotating tips and a to-do checklist would increase completion rates. The results of this study will form a baseline for future artificial intelligence-directed research.
methodsOverall, 13,224 new members registered between November 2021 and May 2022 for Evolution Health's self-guided treatment courses for anxiety and depression. The control arm featured a member home page without nudges or prompts. Arm 2 featured a home page with a tip-of-the-day section. Arm 3 featured a home page with a tip-of-the-day section and a to-do checklist. The research protocol for this study was published in JMIR Research Protocols on August 15, 2022.
resultsArm 3 had significantly younger members (F
conclusionsMembers engaged with behavioral nudges and prompts. The results of this study may be important because efficacy is related to increased engagement. Due to its novel approach, the outcomes of this study should be interpreted with caution and used as a guideline for future research in this nascent field. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/37231.
Indexed as
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.