Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Mar 9, 2022
Open Peer Review Period: Feb 14, 2022 - Apr 11, 2022
Date Accepted: Dec 20, 2022
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Promoting emotion regulation in dual disorders with ChillTime, a mobile health app : Acceptability and feasibility pilot study.
ABSTRACT
Background:
A growing number of studies highlight the importance of emotion regulation in the treatment and recovery of individuals with psychosis and concomitant disorders such as Substance Use Disorders (SUD). Access to treatment is often difficult, even more so for individuals with concomitant disorders. In that context dedicated smartphone apps may be a useful tool to provide immediate support to individuals in need. Few studies to date have focused on the development and assessment of apps aimed at promoting emotional regulation for people with psychosis.
Objective:
Objective:
To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical impact in individuals with psychotic disorders and concurrent SUD of a dedicated app: ChillTime.
Methods:
Methods:
The pilot open study followed a "pre-post" style design. After the initial assessment, researchers asked participants to use the app as part of their treatment over a 30-day period. Feasibility was determined by the frequency of use of the app and measured using the number of completed strategies. Acceptability was determined by measuring ease of use, ease of learning, satisfaction and perceive utility at the end of the 30-day study period by using satisfaction questionnaires. Clinical scales were administered at the beginning and end of the 30-day period.
Results:
Results : A total of 13 patients included,11 completed the study. The preliminary results at hand shows a good feasibility, and a good acceptability of ChillTime in the study sample. A trend toward a significant impact on negative symptoms was observed. No other statistically significant change were observed. However moderate and large effect sizes were measured for substance use regarding frequency and amount taken.
Conclusions:
Conclusions:
The ChillTime app seems showed a good feasibility (about half of the patients used the tool at least 33% of the days) and acceptability among people with schizophrenia and SUD. In spite of lack of statistically significant impact on the clinical outcomes, some trends and the moderate and large effect size observed suggest possible clinical impact. Studies with larger samples and longer assessment are needed to confirm those results.
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