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Context: Early intervention, and parent-mediated intervention are effective in achieving early childhood development goals for children with autism spectrum disorder. There is a surge in mHealth technologies delivering such interventions. This review aims to explore the concept, context and methodology of implementation of such mHealth apps. Evidence Acquisition: A search was conducted using NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) healthcare database, including keyword ‘early intervention,’ ‘mHealth,’ ‘parent support,’ ‘apps,’ and ‘autism.’ The quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, case reports, grey literature, systematic reviews, clinical trials, and feasibility studies of children between 2 to 6 years with ASD were included from inception of database to December, 2021. Web/ Internet-based or computer-dependent programs were excluded. The initial search yielded 3786 studies; 17 were finally included based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Result: Studies on a total of mhealth apps were reviewed. Nine apps, apart from TOBY (Therapy outcome by you), lacked a holistic approach and instead targeted a specific difficulty in autism. The provision of support to parents using apps was equally beneficial as in-person support, reduced costs, and improved outcomes in children. Conclusion: The review revealed limited evidence-based mHealth apps available currently in a community setting. This also underscores an opportunity for clinicians to re-direct parents towards evidence-based information and interventions.
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Objective: To test the efficacy of smartphone-assisted online brief cognitive behavioral therapy (b-CBT) to treat maternal depression compared to online brief CBT plus an active control app. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted. Assessments were performed at baseline (T0), midpoint (T1, week 4-5), post-treatment (T2, week 8), and follow-up (T3, 2-month postnatal follow-up) by blinded interviewers. The primary outcome was depression measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at T2. We also assessed anxiety, stress, sleep quality, well-being, physical activity, treatment response, and offspring child behavior problems. Results: Eighty-one participants were randomized to the intervention (n=37) or active control (n=44) groups. Seventy-one participants completed the post-treatment assessment or reported primary outcome data. No differences were found between the intervention and active control groups regarding maternal depression or other mental health outcomes. Overall, we found large within-group effect sizes, with 80% of the total sample responding to treatment. Conclusions: Our data showed no difference between the groups, suggesting that adding apps to psychotherapy treatment may not enhance treatment effects on prenatal depression. A within-groups analysis showed that most participants with depression responded to treatment; however, future studies are needed to confirm whether this effect is related to factors other than the intervention.
RESUMEN
Digital therapeutics(DTs)refers to a non-drug intervention method that uses electronic devices such as computers,smartphones,and wearable devices to evaluate and intervene through software programs and Internet technologies.It has been confirmed that there is a good therapeutic effect on a variety of mental disorders.Digital therapeutics can improve the insomnia problems of insomniacs,enhance the attention and work memory ability of patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,and can also alleviate symptoms such as depression and anxiety disorder.Digital therapy will develop towards personalized treatment,popular treatment,fragmented treatment,and entertainment treatment in the future and have broad development prospects.