A Fully Automated Self-help Biopsychosocial Transdiagnostic Digital Intervention to Reduce Anxiety and/or Depression and Improve Emotional Regulation and Well-being: Pre–Follow-up Single-Arm Feasibility Trial

JMIR Formative Research · 5 authors, 3 centres

AI SUMMARY

FIDELITY 100%

POPULATIONAdults with anxiety and/or depression symptoms

INTERVENTIONLife Flex, a fully automated self-help biopsychosocial transdiagnostic digital intervention

COMPARISON

This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.

AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

TRACE TO SOURCE

“

TL;DR

This was a single-arm feasibility trial of a fully automated digital self-help program (Life Flex) for people with anxiety and/or depression. The program led to significant reductions in symptoms and improvements in well-being, with the largest effects seen in participants with clinical comorbid anxiety and depression.

Full summary

769 CHARS

This study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the Life Flex program in a single-arm design. The intervention showed significant improvements across all measured outcomes, with large within-group effect sizes (Cohen d range 0.82 to 1.33) for anxiety, depression, psychological distress, emotional dysregulation, and well-being. Smaller effect sizes were observed for optimism and quality of life. Subgroup analyses indicated that participants with clinical comorbid anxiety and depression experienced the largest treatment effects, while those with nonclinical symptoms showed minimal change. The findings suggest Life Flex is acceptable and may help address treatment accessibility gaps, but confirmatory randomized controlled trials are needed.

PICO

PPOPULATION

Adults with anxiety and/or depression symptoms

IINTERVENTION

Life Flex, a fully automated self-help biopsychosocial transdiagnostic digital intervention

OOUTCOME

Anxiety, depression, psychological distress, emotional dysregulation, well-being, optimism, health-related quality of life

STUDY TYPE

other

SPECIALTY

psychiatry

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10265433

A Fully Automated Self-help Biopsychosocial Transdiagnostic Digital Intervention to Reduce Anxiety and/or Depression and Improve Emotional Regulation and Well-being: Pre–Follow-up Single-Arm Feasibility Trial

JMIR Formative Research

READ THE FULL PAPER

ABSTRACT

Background Anxiety disorders and depression are prevalent disorders with high comorbidity, leading to greater chronicity and severity of symptoms. Given the accessibility to treatment issues, more evaluation is needed to assess the potential benefits of fully automated self-help transdiagnostic digital interventions. Innovating beyond the current transdiagnostic one-size-fits-all shared mechanistic approach may also lead to further improvements. Objective The primary objective of this study was to explore the preliminary effectiveness and acceptability of a new fully automated self-help biopsychosocial transdiagnostic digital intervention (Life Flex) aimed at treating anxiety and/or depression, as well as improving emotional regulation; emotional, social, and psychological well-being; optimism; and health-related quality of life. Methods This was a real-world pre-during-post-follow-up feasibility trial design evaluation of Life Flex. Participants were assessed at the preintervention time point (week 0), during intervention (weeks 3 and 5), at the postintervention time point (week 8), and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups (weeks 12 and 20, respectively). Results The results provided early support for the Life Flex program in reducing anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 9), psychological distress (Kessler 6), and emotional dysregulation (Difficulties in Emotional Regulation 36) and increasing emotional, social, and psychological well-being (Mental Health Continuum—Short Form); optimism (Revised Life Orientation Test); and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-3L Utility Index and Health Rating; all false discovery rate [FDR]<.001). Large within-group treatment effect sizes (range | d |=0.82 to 1.33) were found for most variables from pre- to postintervention assessments and at the 1- and 3-month follow-up. The exceptions were medium treatment effect sizes for EQ-5D-3L Utility Index (range Cohen d =−0.50 to −0.63) and optimism (range Cohen d =−0.72 to −0.79) and small-to-medium treatment effect size change for EQ-5D-3L Health Rating (range Cohen d =−0.34 to −0.58). Changes across all outcome variables were generally strongest for participants with preintervention clinical comorbid anxiety and depression presentations (range | d |=0.58 to 2.01) and weakest for participants presenting with nonclinical anxiety and/or depressive symptoms (| d |=0.05 to 0.84). Life Flex was rated as acceptable at the postintervention time point, and participants indicated that they enjoyed the transdiagnostic program and biological, wellness, and lifestyle-focused content and strategies. Conclusions Given the paucity of evidence on fully automated self-help transdiagnostic digital interventions for anxiety and/or depressive symptomatology and general treatment accessibility issues, this study provides preliminary support for biopsychosocial transdiagnostic interventions, such as Life Flex, as a promising future mental health service delivery gap filler. Following large-scale, randomized controlled trials, the potential benefits of fully automated self-help digital health programs, such as Life Flex, could be considerable. Trial Registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12615000480583; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=368007

CITATION EXPORT

Britt Klein, Huy Nguyen, Suzanne McLaren et al.. A Fully Automated Self-help Biopsychosocial Transdiagnostic Digital Intervention to Reduce Anxiety and/or Depression and Improve Emotional Regulation and Well-being: Pre–Follow-up Single-Arm Feasibility Trial. JMIR Formative Research. (2023). https://doi.org/10.2196/43385

AUTHORS

5 · 3 CENTRES

Britt Klein, Huy Nguyen, Suzanne McLaren, Brooke Andrews, Kerrie Shandley

1 Health Innovation & Transformation Centre Federation University Australia Ballarat Australia
2 Biopsychosocial and eHealth Research & Innovation Hub Federation University Australia Ballarat Australia
3 Charles Sturt University Port Macquarie Australia

EDITOR / REVIEWER

Amaryllis Mavragani, Ali Al-Asadi Ari, Haijing Hallenbeck