Smartphone-based passive assessment of mobility in depression: Challenges and opportunities

Publication date: Available online 18 April 2018 Source:Mental Health and Physical Activity Author(s): Brenna N. Renn, Abhishek Pratap, David C. Atkins, Sean D. Mooney, Patricia A. Areán Advances in technology have ushered in exciting potential for smartphone sensors to inform mental health care. This commentary addresses the practical challenges of collecting smartphone-based physical activity data. Using data (N = 353) from a large scale, fully remote randomized clinical trial for depression, we discuss findings and limitations associated with using passively collected mobility data to make inferences about depressive symptom severity. We highlight a range of issues in associating mobility data with mental health symptoms, including a high degree of variability, data featurization, granularity, and sparsity. Given the considerable efforts toward leveraging technology in mental health care, it is important to consider these challenges to optimize assessment and guide best practices. Clinical Trials.gov identifier NCT01808976.
Source: Mental Health and Physical Activity - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research