Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Mental Health
Date Submitted: Jan 25, 2024
Date Accepted: May 6, 2024
Acceptability and engagement of a smartphone-delivered interpretation bias intervention in a sample of Black and Hispanic/Latinx adults: an open trial.
ABSTRACT
Background:
Access to evidence-based interventions is urgently needed, especially for individuals of minoritized identities who experience unique barriers to mental health care. Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) have the potential to increase accessibility. Previous pilot studies testing HabitWorks, a smartphone app providing an interpretation bias intervention, have found strong engagement and adherence for HabitWorks; however, previous trials’ samples consisted of predominantly non-Hispanic, White individuals.
Objective:
The current study conducted an open trial of HabitWorks in a community sample of adults who identified as Black and/or Hispanic/Latinx. We aimed to test safety, acceptability, and engagement with the HabitWorks app for Black and Hispanic/Latinx adults.
Methods:
Black and/or Hispanic/Latinx adults (Mage = 32.83; 71.0% women) who endorsed symptoms of anxiety and/or depression were asked to complete interpretation modification exercises via HabitWorks three times per week for one month. Interpretation bias and anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed at baseline and post-treatment. Participants completed qualitative interviews to assess overall perceptions of HabitWorks.
Results:
Of the 31 participants that downloaded the app, 27 used HabitWorks all four weeks. On average, participants completed 15.74 (SD = 7.43) exercises out of the 12 prescribed demonstrating high engagement. Acceptability ratings met all a priori benchmarks except for relevancy. Qualitative interviews also demonstrated high acceptability and few negative experiences. Significant improvements were found in interpretation style (t(30) = 2.29, P < .001) with a large effect size (d =1.53), anxiety symptoms (t(30) = 2.29, P = .03) with a small effect size (d = 0.41), and depression symptoms (t(30) = 3.065, P = .005) with a medium effect size (d = 0.55).
Conclusions:
The current study adds to the literature evaluating DMHIs in Black and Hispanic/Latinx adults. Preliminary results further support a future controlled trial testing the effectiveness of HabitWorks as an intervention.
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