Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jun 3, 2022
Date Accepted: Oct 16, 2022
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
Introducing RuminAid: The Development and Focus Group Testing of a Mobile Health App for Depression
ABSTRACT
Effective treatments for depression exist, yet access to evidence-based care remains limited. Mobile health (mHealth) apps offer one avenue for improving access. We describe the development of RuminAid, a mHealth app that uses evidence-based techniques. This intervention targets a single key depressogenic process—rumination. Its behavioral strategies are rooted in empirically-supported interventions for depression and rumination. RuminAid is consistent with recommendations by mHealth researchers and integrates “gamified” elements. The goal of RuminAid is to teach users to increase awareness of ruminative episodes, deploy behavioral strategies to replace habitual rumination, and address rumination-related deficits in attention. An initial focus-group study found that the consumer-rated quality of a storyboard version of RuminAid was in the acceptable to good range. Participants endorsed overwhelming positive beliefs about the perceived impact of RuminAid. Namely, 95% of participants reported that they believe RuminAid will help depressed ruminators with depression and rumination. Results highlighted a need for improved app aesthetics (eg, a more appealing color scheme and modern design). Subsequent modifications based on focus-group feedback and future directions are discussed.
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