Digital Wellness Program Reduces Anxiety, Depression
A new study published in PLOS Medicine demonstrates that a digital wellness program significantly reduces anxiety and depression in adults with chronic medical conditions. The program, which includes movement, meditation, and coping skills, showed the best results when supplemented with weekly telephone check-ins.
Why it matters
Digital health interventions offer a scalable, cost-effective solution to address the mental health burden faced by patients with chronic physical illnesses who often lack access to traditional clinical support.
A digital program combining guided movement, breathing and meditation exercises, and coping-skills training reduced anxiety and depression symptoms in adults with chronic medical conditions, according to a new study published August 20 th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Puneeta Tandon of the University of Alberta, Canada, and colleagues.
More than half of adults living with chronic physical conditions experience anxiety, depression, or fatigue, which can significantly reduce quality of life. Access to effective symptom management support is limited by mobility barriers, geography, cost, and shortages of trained clinicians. Digital programs may offer a scalable way to address this burden, but clinical trial evidence backing these interventions has been limited, and the role of human support in their efficacy is unclear.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in