Brief Psychological Intervention Through Mobile App and Conference Calls for the Prevention of Depression in Non-Professional Caregivers: A Pilot Study.
Despite its potential, no intervention aimed at non-professional caregivers administered through a smartphone app has been proven to prevent depression. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of an indicated depression-prevention intervention for non-professional caregivers administered through an app with the addition of conference-call contact. The intervention was administered to 31 caregivers (Mean age = 54.0 years, 93.5% women). An independent evaluation determined the incidence of depression, depressive symptoms, risk of developing depression, and the variables in the theoretical model (positive environmental reinforcement, negative automatic thoughts) at the pre-intervention and post-intervention, as well as the one- and three-month follow-ups. The incidence of depression at 3 months of follow-up was 6.5%. There was a significant reduction in depressive symptoms (p < 0.001) and in the risk of developing depression (p < 0.001) at the post-intervention and at the one- and three-month follow-ups. The model's variables improved significantly after the intervention and were associated with post-intervention depressive symptoms. The intervention was more effective in caregivers who had a lower level of depressive symptoms at the pre-intervention. Adherence and satisfaction with the intervention were high. The results encourage future research using a randomized controlled clinical trial.
['Otero|Patricia|P|', 'Hita|Isabel|I|', 'Torres|Ángela J|ÁJ|', 'Vázquez|Fernando L|FL|0000-0002-5868-4025']
D017028:Caregivers D003863:Depression D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D063731:Mobile Applications D010865:Pilot Projects
app prevention depression behavioral cognitive nonprofessional caregiver telephone