Oct 17, 2022
Constant mood monitoring using WhatsApp for persons with depression: a pilot study
- Maritta A Välimäki1,2,
- Qing Long1,
- Min Yang3,4,
- Sau Fong5
- 1Xiangya School of Nursing, Xiangya Research Center of Evidence-Based Healthcare, Central South University, Changsha, China;
- 2Department of Nursing Science, University of Turku, Turku, Finland;
- 3West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China;
- 4Faculty of Design, Health, and Art, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia;
- 5Hong Kong Polytechnic University, School of Nursing, Hong Kong, China (SAR)
Collection Citation: Maritta A Välimäki, Qing Long, Min Yang, Sau Fong 2022. Constant mood monitoring using WhatsApp for persons with depression: a pilot study. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.8epv5jz46l1b/v1
License: This is an open access collection distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this collection and it's working
Created: October 14, 2022
Last Modified: October 17, 2022
Collection Integer ID: 71353
Keywords: Mood, Monitoring, WhatsApp, Well-being, Depression
Funders Acknowledgement:
Department of Neurobiology Care Science and Society, Karolinska Institutet and School of Nursing and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Collaborative Research Grants Scheme
Grant ID: ZZJT, P0001924
University of Turku, Finland
Grant ID: 26003424
Abstract
Background
Preliminary evidence suggests that social media could provide a convenient platform to monitor mood. It is still unknown whether WhatsApp mood monitoring could be used to identify mood changes in adults.
Methods
A cohort study design was used in this study. The data is a part of the bigger study where psychological variables together with mobility data were collected using GPS (dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.5qpvory7bv4o/v1). Participants (N=32) with signs or a diagnosis of depression joined the study. The data were collected between 15 November 2018 and 30 September 2019. The participants were monitored daily for 14 days using WhatsApp. Depressive symptoms, perceived stress, mental well-being, self-esteem, and life satisfaction were collected at baseline and the end of a 14-days. The feasibility of constant monitoring was described as well.
Results
Although participants’ (N=31) mood status fluctuated, the analysis of ANOVA showed no significant difference in average mood levels during the 14-day period (F=1.985, p=0.093). The paired-sample t-test showed a significant improvement in self-esteem between baseline and follow-up (t=3.978, p<0.001).
Conclusion
WhatsApp could be used for constant mood monitoring as it is easy to use, and it was not found to have a negative impact on participants’ psychological well-being. However, further research with more accurate methods and a larger sample size might be needed to identify patterns in mood changes and their link to well-being.
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