Digital Phenotyping to Quantify Psychosocial Wellbeing Trajectories after Spinal Cord Injury

Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 2020 · DOI: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000001506 · Published: December 1, 2020

Spinal Cord Injury Mental Health Telehealth & Digital Health

Simple Explanation

This study explores the use of smartphones to monitor depression and its relationship to psychosocial wellbeing in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Participants used a smartphone app to report symptoms and track activity levels, providing frequent measurements over time. This allowed researchers to examine how depression relates to social engagement, mobility, health, and exercise participation. The study found that using smartphones for this purpose is feasible but faces challenges with participant retention. It also highlighted that there are individual differences in depression patterns, which suggests this approach could be useful for personalized treatment.

Study Duration

4 Months

Participants

43 community-living adult wheelchair users with SCI

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
Smartphone-based digital phenotyping of psychosocial wellbeing after SCI is feasible but not without attrition challenges.
2
Roughly half of participants with complete data had at least one week of mild depression during the four months.
3
Those with depression consistently had lower satisfaction with social engagement and a restricted ability to participate in SRA.

Research Summary

This study examined the feasibility of using smartphones to monitor depression and psychosocial wellbeing in individuals with SCI. Participants used a smartphone app to track symptoms and activities over four months. The study found that smartphone-based monitoring is feasible but faces challenges with participant retention. Financial incentives improved retention rates. The results suggest that smartphone-based digital phenotyping could be a valuable tool for personalized medicine in SCI, allowing for more effective and timely interventions based on individual patterns of depression and wellbeing.

Practical Implications

Personalized Interventions

The study suggests that digital phenotyping can help tailor interventions to individual needs, improving their effectiveness.

Remote Monitoring

Smartphones can be used to remotely monitor patients' psychosocial wellbeing, reducing the need for frequent clinic visits.

Early Detection

Continuous monitoring can help detect early signs of psychosocial distress, allowing for timely intervention.

Study Limitations

1
Study attrition suggests that the unique demands of a new SCI contributed to drop out.
2
One of the most common reasons for drop out was time constraints and so monitoring psychosocial wellbeing via passive smartphone sensor data that does not require participant input may be warranted.
3
This study did not collect clinical, demographic, or socioeconomic data on individuals who were approached by study staff and were found to be either ineligible or not interested in research.

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