Feasibility and Acceptability of a Mobile App and Wearable Device for Collecting Mental Health Survey and Passively...

Mobile apps and wearable devices may help to facilitate early detection of mental health conditions by providing objective, real-time data to supplement other forms of feedback and diagnoses. Few studies have investigated the acceptability and feasibility of using a mobile app to track survey- and wearable-based data in mental health research in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This pilot study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of using a mobile app and wearables to capture mental health-based survey data and passively sensed data among Kenyan health care workers.

A mixed methods study was conducted among health care workers employed at 4 hospitals in Nairobi, Kenya, over 30 days. A mobile app was used to collect and integrate active (baseline questionnaire and daily mood) and passive (wearable) data. The baseline questionnaire gathered information on sociodemographics, work environment, and mental health assessments on depression, anxiety, personality, early family environment, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance use. A wearable device was used to gather data on steps, heart rate, and sleep. Qualitative interviews were conducted post trial to gain in-depth insights into participants' experiences during the study.

Fifty-one participants enrolled in the pilot study. They were primarily nurses (47%) and female (70%), with a median (IQR) age of 32 (29-36) years. Attrition over 30 days was low, with only one participant dropping out due to device malfunction, which was a broken screen. Completeness of the baseline survey was high, with participants completing 96.1% of the questions. Further, 58% of the daily mood ratings were completed over the 30 days. For the wearable measures, participants submitted steps, heart rate, and sleep data on 93%, 73%, and 51% of study days, respectively. The proportion of days the wearable was worn for over 10 hours was 63%. Interviews revealed 2 primary themes. The first was intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; participants indicated that they liked having their health metrics tracked and receiving congratulatory messages from the app, encouraging increased step counts. The second theme was technical and usability challenges; 48% (10/21) of the participants reported discomfort wearing the watch while sleeping and challenges with synchronization of data due to the nonautomated nature of the process. Participants suggested additional prompts to remind them to complete the daily mood question.

This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of deploying mental health surveys, collecting data through wearable devices, and integrating such data within a single mobile platform under real-world infrastructure constraints. Health care workers in Kenya were willing to provide sensitive information through mental health assessments using a mobile app. To improve adherence, future studies should consider addressing some contextual factors such as daily prompts, enhanced data synchronization methods, and comfort concerns to improve adherence, especially during sleep.