Cited by 151Digital Mental Health InterventionsMobile Health and mHealth ApplicationsMental Health Research Topics

Youth Codesign of a Mobile Phone App to Facilitate Self-Monitoring and Management of Mood Symptoms in Young People With Major Depression, Suicidal Ideation, and Self-Harm

Open access
Hetrick, Sarah Elisabeth, Robinson, Jo, Burge, Eloise, Blandon, Ryan, Mobilio, Bianca, Rice, Simon M, Simmons, Magenta B, Alvarez-Jimenez, Mario +2 more·2018·JMIR Mental Health

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

Background: Effective treatment of depression in young people is critical, given its prevalence, impacts, and link to suicide. Clinical practice guidelines point to the need for regular monitoring of depression symptom severity and the emergence of suicidal ideation to track treatment progress and guide intervention delivery. Yet, this is seldom integrated in clinical practice. Objective: The objective of this study was to address the gap between guidelines about monitoring and real-world practice by codesigning an app with young people that allows for self-monitoring of mood and communication of this monitoring with a clinician. Methods: We engaged young people aged 18 to 25 years who had experienced depression, suicidal ideation including those who self-harm, as well as clinicians in a codesign process. We used a human-centered codesign design studio methodology where young people designed the features of the app first individually and then as a group. This resulted in a minimal viable product design, represented through low-fidelity hand-drawn wireframes. Clinicians were engaged throughout the process via focus groups. Results: The app incorporated a mood monitoring feature with innovative design aspects that allowed customization, and was named a “well-being tracker” in response to the need for a positive approach to this function. Brief personalized interventions designed to support young people in the intervals between face-to-face appointments were embedded in the app and were immediately available via pop-ups generated by a back-end algorithm within the well-being tracker. Issues regarding the safe incorporation of alerts generated by the app into face-to-face clinical services were raised by clinicians (ie, responding in a timely manner) and will need to be addressed during the full implementation of the app into clinical services. Conclusions: The potential to improve outcomes for young people via technology-based enhancement to interventions is enormous. Enhancing communication between young people and their clinicians about symptoms and treatment progress and increasing access to timely and evidence-based interventions are desirable outcomes. To achieve positive outcomes for young people using technology- (app) based interventions, it is critical to understand and incorporate, in a meaningful way, the expectations and motivations of both young people and clinicians.

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Authors
Hetrick, S. E., Robinson, J., Burge, E., Blandon, R., Mobilio, B., Rice, S. M., Simmons, M. B., Alvarez-Jimenez, M., Goodrich, S., & Davey, C. G.
Affiliations
  • University of Auckland (NZ)
  • The University of Melbourne (AU)
  • RMIT University (AU)
Corresponding author
Hetrick, Sarah Elisabeth
Venue
JMIR Mental Health
Published
2018-01-23
Volume
5
Issue
1
Pages
e9
ISSN
2368-7959 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2784797255
Cited by
151
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 1
FWCI
19.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • JMIR Mental Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • ResearchSpace (University of Auckland) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
Keywords
mobile phone app, major depressive disorder, suicidal ideation, self-harm, youth, clinician-patient communication, personalized interventions, digital mental health interventions, clinician engagement

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