Adherence and effectiveness of an emotion-based psychodynamic online self-help during and after inpatient and day-care psychotherapy: Results of a naturalistic study.

BACKGROUND

Internet-based mental health interventions are considered effective in providing low-threshold support for people with mental health disorders. However, there is a lack of research investigating the transferability of such online programs into routine care settings. Low treatment adherence and problems with technical implementation often limit a successful transfer into clinical routines. This naturalistic study aims to identify influencing factors on program adherence in patients who participated in an online intervention during inpatient or day-clinic psychotherapeutic treatment.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

In a naturalistic study, we investigated the transferability of the transdiagnostic psychodynamic online self-help program , which includes eight consecutive units. Between May 2017 and October 2018, patients who received inpatient or day-clinic psychotherapeutic treatment at the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy in the University Medical Center Mainz have been offered to use . Of the = 749 patients who were admitted to the clinic, = 239 patients (32%) registered for participation in . While 46.9% of the participants did not complete any unit (inactive participants), 53.1% completed at least the first unit (active participants). Age, number of diagnoses, and symptom severity were associated with (in)active participation. Adherence decreased over time resulting in only 17 participants (7.6%) who completed all units. None of the sociodemographic and medical characteristics proved to be significant predictors of adherence. Analyses of effectiveness showed a significant reduction of anxiety and depression in active participants in the course of participation, with higher improvements in participants that completed more than half of the units.

CONCLUSION

Adherence to the online self-help program was lower in the naturalistic setting than in a previous clinical trial, but was still associated with greater program effectiveness. Adherence-promoting measures are crucial to increase the effectiveness of such interventions in clinical settings.