ArticleBMC psychiatry2024
Gender differences in preferences for mental health apps in the general population - a choice-based conjoint analysis from Germany.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 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.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Preferences for AI-Enabled Health Care Technologies: Systematic Review of Discrete Choice Experiments and Reporting Quality Assessment Using the DIRECT Checklist.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy, User Engagement, and Acceptability of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Oriented Psychological Chatbots for Adults With Depressive and/or Anxiety Symptoms: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Gender differences in the influence of app-based mindfulness meditation on emotion regulation: a randomised controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- The Role of Rating Valence in AI Skin Cancer App Acceptance: Eye-Tracking and Questionnaire Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Willingness to use video-game or gamified application-based interventions to improve or strengthen emotional regulation, mental health, and mental well-being.Internet interventions · 2026Article
- Use of Digital Peer Support for Employee Well-Being: Retrospective Analysis Across Five Large Employers.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Preferences of patients with depression for exercises: a discrete choice experiment.BMC public 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
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMen and women differ in the mental health issues they typically face. This study aims to describe gender differences in preferences for mental health treatment options and specifically tries to identify participants who prefer AI-based therapy over traditional face-to-face therapy.
methodA nationally representative sample of 2,108 participants (53% female) aged 18 to 74 years completed a choice-based conjoint analysis (CBCA). Within the CBCA, participants evaluated twenty choice sets, each describing three treatment variants in terms of provider, content, costs, and waiting time.
resultsCosts (relative importance [RI] = 55%) emerged as the most critical factor when choosing between treatment options, followed by provider (RI = 31%), content (RI = 10%), and waiting time (RI = 4%). Small yet statistically significant differences were observed between women and men. Women placed greater importance on the provider, while men placed greater importance on cost and waiting time. Age and previous experience with psychotherapy and with mental health apps were systematically related to individual preferences but did not alter gender effects. Only a minority (approximately 8%) of participants preferred AI-based treatment to traditional therapy.
conclusionsOverall, affordable mental health treatments performed by human therapists are consistently favored by both men and women. AI-driven mental health apps should align with user preferences to address psychologist shortages. However, it is uncertain whether they alone can meet the rising demand, highlighting the need for alternative solutions.
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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.