A Perspective on How User-Centered Design Could Improve the Impact of Self-Applied Psychological Interventions in Low- or Middle-Income Countries in Latin America

Overview

Journal Front Digit Health

Specialty Medical Informatics

Date 2022 Jun 20

PMID 35721795

Authors

Alejandro Dominguez-Rodriguez

Anabel de la Rosa-Gomez

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Global technological progress has generated alternatives for psychological assistance, both for the evaluation and for the treatment of different emotional disorders. Evidence suggests that Internet-based treatments are effective for the treatment of anxiety and depression disorders. However, in Latin America online treatments are still scarce compared to developed countries and have similar problems as developed countries, such as high dropout rate. One possible solution to help decrease the dropout rate is to design and develop online interventions based on the needs and characteristics of the users. The user-centered design (UCD) is a fundamental concept to develop successful online interventions. The objective of this article is to provide a perspective overview on how UCD could improve the impact of self-applied psychological interventions in low- or middle-income countries in Latin America; however this proposal can also be applied in low- and middle-income countries in other regions of the world. The literature on UCD has demonstrated its efficacy when properly applied in online interventions; however, it is not common to see how this methodology has been applied in research in online interventions, and regarding Latin America, this is even more scarce with a very limited number of articles implementing the principles of UCD.

Citing Articles

"Salud Mamaria", an internet-based psychoeducational program during the breast cancer diagnosis process: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Martinez-Arriaga R, Dominguez-Rodriguez A, Meza-Chavolla S, Munoz-Anacona Y, Cisneros-Hernandez A, Gonzalez-Cantero J Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2025; 43():101397.

PMID: 39802661 PMC: 11722602. DOI: 10.1016/j.conctc.2024.101397.

Evaluation and Future Challenges in a Self-Guided Web-Based Intervention With and Without Chat Support for Depression and Anxiety Symptoms During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Dominguez-Rodriguez A, Sanz-Gomez S, Gonzalez Ramirez L, Herdoiza-Arroyo P, Trevino Garcia L, de la Rosa-Gomez A JMIR Form Res. 2024; 8:e53767.

PMID: 39348893 PMC: 11474119. DOI: 10.2196/53767.

An internet-based self-help intervention for the reduction of consumption of ultra-processed products and increase of physical activity in Mexican university population: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Gonzalez-Cantero J, Lopez-Torres L, Alvarado-Avalos I, Lopez-Alcaraz F, Gasca-Suarez E, Cisneros-Hernandez A Front Nutr. 2024; 11:1325528.

PMID: 39221160 PMC: 11363904. DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1325528.

Internet-based self-administered intervention to reduce anxiety and depression symptomatology and improve well-being in 7 countries: protocol of a randomized control trial.

Dominguez-Rodriguez A, Herdoiza-Arroyo P, Gonzalez-Ramirez L, Martinez-Arriaga R, Villarreal-Zegarra D, Santos da Silva A Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1279847.

PMID: 38774723 PMC: 11107906. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1279847.

Needs for mobile and internet-based psychological intervention in patients with self-injury and suicide-related behaviors: a qualitative systematic review.

Luo M, Yue Y, Du N, Xiao Y, Chen C, Huan Z BMC Psychiatry. 2024; 24(1):26.

PMID: 38178028 PMC: 10768375. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05477-2.

References

Lyon A, Munson S, Renn B, Atkins D, Pullmann M, Friedman E . Use of Human-Centered Design to Improve Implementation of Evidence-Based Psychotherapies in Low-Resource Communities: Protocol for Studies Applying a Framework to Assess Usability . JMIR Res Protoc. 2019; 8(10):e14990. PMC: 6819011. DOI: 10.2196/14990. View

Christensen H, Griffiths K, Farrer L . Adherence in internet interventions for anxiety and depression. J Med Internet Res. 2009; 11(2):e13. PMC: 2762797. DOI: 10.2196/jmir.1194. View

Dopp A, Parisi K, Munson S, Lyon A . Aligning implementation and user-centered design strategies to enhance the impact of health services: results from a concept mapping study. Implement Sci Commun. 2020; 1:17. PMC: 7427975. DOI: 10.1186/s43058-020-00020-w. View

Swift J, Bird M, Penix E, Trusty W . Client preference accommodation for religious/spiritual integration and psychotherapy outcomes in naturalistic practice settings. Psychotherapy (Chic). 2021; 59(3):392-399. DOI: 10.1037/pst0000386. View

Humphries S, Rondung E, Norlund F, Sundin O, Tornvall P, Held C . Designing a Web-Based Psychological Intervention for Patients With Myocardial Infarction With Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries: User-Centered Design Approach. J Med Internet Res. 2020; 22(9):e19066. PMC: 7530693. DOI: 10.2196/19066. View

Burchert S, Alkneme M, Bird M, Carswell K, Cuijpers P, Hansen P . User-Centered App Adaptation of a Low-Intensity E-Mental Health Intervention for Syrian Refugees. Front Psychiatry. 2019; 9:663. PMC: 6355704. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00663. View

Harte R, Glynn L, Rodriguez-Molinero A, Baker P, Scharf T, Quinlan L . A Human-Centered Design Methodology to Enhance the Usability, Human Factors, and User Experience of Connected Health Systems: A Three-Phase Methodology. JMIR Hum Factors. 2017; 4(1):e8. PMC: 5374275. DOI: 10.2196/humanfactors.5443. View

Garcia-Cerde R, Valente J, Sohi I, Falade R, Sanchez Z, Monteiro M . Alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2021; 45:e52. PMC: 8132959. DOI: 10.26633/RPSP.2021.52. View

. Global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet. 2021; 398(10312):1700-1712. PMC: 8500697. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02143-7. View

10.

Rigabert A, Motrico E, Moreno-Peral P, Resurreccion D, Conejo-Ceron S, Cuijpers P . Effectiveness of online psychological and psychoeducational interventions to prevent depression: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Clin Psychol Rev. 2020; 82:101931. DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101931. View

11.

Goularte J, Serafim S, Colombo R, Hogg B, Caldieraro M, Rosa A . COVID-19 and mental health in Brazil: Psychiatric symptoms in the general population. J Psychiatr Res. 2020; 132:32-37. PMC: 7527181. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.09.021. View

12.

Hardy A, Wojdecka A, West J, Matthews E, Golby C, Ward T . How Inclusive, User-Centered Design Research Can Improve Psychological Therapies for Psychosis: Development of SlowMo. JMIR Ment Health. 2018; 5(4):e11222. PMC: 6300708. DOI: 10.2196/11222. View

13.

. [[Mental health as a component of universal health]]. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2019; 42:e140. PMC: 6385626. DOI: 10.26633/RPSP.2018.140. View

14.

Andrews G, Basu A, Cuijpers P, Craske M, McEvoy P, English C . Computer therapy for the anxiety and depression disorders is effective, acceptable and practical health care: An updated meta-analysis. J Anxiety Disord. 2018; 55:70-78. DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.01.001. View

15.

Weisel K, Zarski A, Berger T, Krieger T, Moser C, Schaub M . User Experience and Effects of an Individually Tailored Transdiagnostic Internet-Based and Mobile-Supported Intervention for Anxiety Disorders: Mixed-Methods Study. J Med Internet Res. 2020; 22(9):e16450. PMC: 7527916. DOI: 10.2196/16450. View

16.

Radomski A, Bagnell A, Curtis S, Hartling L, Newton A . Examining the Usage, User Experience, and Perceived Impact of an Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program for Adolescents With Anxiety: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Ment Health. 2020; 7(2):e15795. PMC: 7055748. DOI: 10.2196/15795. View

17.

Andersson G, Rozental A, Shafran R, Carlbring P . Long-term effects of internet-supported cognitive behaviour therapy. Expert Rev Neurother. 2017; 18(1):21-28. DOI: 10.1080/14737175.2018.1400381. View

18.

Alonso J, Liu Z, Evans-Lacko S, Sadikova E, Sampson N, Chatterji S . Treatment gap for anxiety disorders is global: Results of the World Mental Health Surveys in 21 countries. Depress Anxiety. 2018; 35(3):195-208. PMC: 6008788. DOI: 10.1002/da.22711. View

19.

Josephine K, Josefine L, Philipp D, David E, Harald B . Internet- and mobile-based depression interventions for people with diagnosed depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2017; 223:28-40. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.07.021. View

20.

Meyerowitz-Katz G, Ravi S, Arnolda L, Feng X, Maberly G, Astell-Burt T . Rates of Attrition and Dropout in App-Based Interventions for Chronic Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Med Internet Res. 2020; 22(9):e20283. PMC: 7556375. DOI: 10.2196/20283. View