Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Feb 3, 2020
Date Accepted: Sep 15, 2020
Date Submitted to PubMed: Sep 24, 2020
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Effectiveness of a smart phone application BioBase for reducing anxiety and increasing mental wellbeing: a pilot feasibility and acceptability study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The prevalence of workplace-related stress and anxiety is high, resulting in stress-related physical and mental illness. Digital self-guided interventions aimed at key areas of workplace design may be able to provide remote anxiolytic effects.
Objective:
The aim of this feasibility study is to assess changes in anxiety and mental wellbeing after use of the BioBase programme, a smart phone platform for psycho-educational modules, tools and real-time feedback of physiological data.
Methods:
A four-week observational study was carried out in 55 healthy adults who were screened for stress with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) Stress subscale. Participants completed anxiety (6-item State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; STAI) and mental wellbeing (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale; WEMWBS) questionnaires at baseline and at 4 weeks. Feedback questionnaires were administered after 4 weeks.
Results:
After 4 weeks of using the programme, STAI significantly decreased (baseline mean= 45.52 ± 13.2, 4-weeks mean: 39.82 ± 11.2, t54 = -3.51, P < 0.001, CI: -8.88 - -2.52, Cohen’s d = 0.96) and WEMWBS significantly increased (baseline mean = 48.12 ± 6.4, 4-weeks mean: 50.4 ± 6.9, t53 = 2.41, p = 0.019, CI: 0.44-4.23, Cohen’s d = 0.66). Further, higher baseline stress was significantly associated with a greater decrease in STAI (t53 = -3.41, P = 0.001, CI: -8.10- -2.10, R2 = 0.180) and a greater increase in WEMWBS (t52 = 2.41, P = 0.019, CI: 0.38 - 4.11, R2 = 0.101). On feedback, participants found the programme easy to use navigate, with the content being acceptable and relevant to workplace-related stressors. 70% of participants would recommend the programme to a friend.
Conclusions:
The BioBase programme is an effective intervention in decreasing anxiety and increasing mental wellbeing, with larger changes in those with higher baseline levels of stress.
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