JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Hypnotherapy has been shown to be a safe, nonhormonal treatment that is effective for treating menopausal hot flashes. However, women suffering from hot flashes may lack access to in-person hypnotherapy due to barriers such as financial considerations or proximity to a hypnotherapist. To expand access to hypnosis for hot flashes, a smartphone app has been created to deliver hypnotherapy. The Evia app, developed by Mindset Health, delivers audio recorded hypnosis and has the potential to help individuals suffering from hot flashes.

Objective:

The present study aims to determine user outcomes in hot flash frequency and severity for users of the Evia app.

Methods:

This study is a retrospective analysis of a dataset of Evia app users provided by Mindset Health. Participants were 422 women with three or more daily hot flashes who used the Evia app between October 2021 and February 2024. The mean age of participants was 52.4 (SD 5.4), and the mean number of daily hot flashes at baseline was 6.8 (SD 3.715). The Evia program experienced by users includes a 5-week program with daily tasks including educational readings, hypnotic inductions, and daily hot flash tracking. The app utilizes audio recorded hypnosis and mental imagery for coolness, such as imagery for cool breeze, snow, or calmness.

Results:

A clinically significant (50%) reduction in daily hot flashes was experienced by 62.6% of women from baseline to their last logged Evia survey. On average, women experienced a 50.8% reduction in their daily hot flashes while using the Evia app. There was a large, statistically significant difference (Cohen d=.96, t=19.761, df=421, P<.001) in women’s average daily hot flashes from baseline to endpoint. At baseline, the self-reported hot flash severity varied, with 29.0% reporting mild severity, 43.8% reporting moderate severity, 21.0% reporting severe hot flashes, and 6.2% reporting very severe hot flashes. At endpoint, 14.2% reported no hot flash severity due to lack of hot flashes, 50.2% reported mild severity, 29.1% reported moderate severity, 5.9% reported severe hot flashes, and 0.5% reported very severe hot flashes. There was a significant (P<.001) difference in women’s hot flash severity, with 58.1% experiencing a decrease in their hot flash severity.

Conclusions:

Hypnotherapy is a well-researched, efficacious treatment for hot flashes, with the potential to improve women’s lives by reducing daily hot flashes without hormonal or pharmacological intervention. This study takes the first step in evaluating the efficacy of an app-delivered hypnosis intervention for menopausal hot flashes. The results demonstrate that the Evia app is a promising app delivery of hypnotherapy, setting the foundation for future studies to evaluate the Evia app through a randomized controlled trial in order to increase accessibility to hypnotherapy and help relieve the suffering of women experiencing menopausal hot flashes.