Android smartphone users eligible for national study on app treatment for depression and anxiety

HealthPartners Institute participating in NIMH funded research

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — HealthPartners Institute is seeking participants for a study that will examine the effectiveness of mobile apps for the treatment of depression and anxiety. Participants will have free access for eight weeks to Intellicare which offers 12 interactive mini-apps.

“Consumers are using mobile technologies to help increase physical activity, improve sleep and address other health issues and we believe smartphone apps may help address mental health conditions which are currently underdiagnosed and undertreated,” said Rebecca Rossom, MD, HealthPartners Institute principal investigator. Nearly 20 percent of Americans will have significant symptoms of depression or anxiety each year. These mental illnesses can be treated, but only about one third of people who experience them get adequate treatment.

The IntelliCare apps cover a range of symptoms and includes:

• Worry Knot, a guided worry management technique
• Social Force, an app to help users get in touch and find support
• Purple Chill offers relaxing meditations and calming exercises
• Slumber Time helps get a good night’s rest
• Move Me, which coaches users to get short bursts of activity to boost their mood

Study participants must be 18 or older, have depression or anxiety, own and be familiar with an Android smartphone and read and speak English. They will be paid up to $90 for participating in telephone and web-based assessments. People who are interested can visit the IntelliCare website. Recruitment is open until Feb. 29.

The study, led by Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, is funded by a $2.5 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.

In 2015, HealthPartners became the first in the region to begin offering an online treatment program for depression and anxiety called Beating the Blues, an evidence-based treatment endorsed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).