Technological Adjuncts to Increase Adherence to Therapy: The Role of Mobile Phones

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Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Casey, Leanne
Other Supervisors
O'Donovan, Analise
Year published
2016
Metadata
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The aim of this thesis was to investigate the use of mobile phones as an adjunct to face-to-face psychotherapy. This aim was developed from two structured reviews of the literature concerning the types of adjunctive technologies in use, and the ways in which they have been used to increase adherence. Adjunctive use of the mobile phone was investigated in regards to its capacity to achieve greater client adherence and engagement in therapy, in order to facilitate improved treatment outcomes and client satisfaction. This overarching aim and hypothesis was investigated in three empirical studies, presented as a series of published ...
View more >The aim of this thesis was to investigate the use of mobile phones as an adjunct to face-to-face psychotherapy. This aim was developed from two structured reviews of the literature concerning the types of adjunctive technologies in use, and the ways in which they have been used to increase adherence. Adjunctive use of the mobile phone was investigated in regards to its capacity to achieve greater client adherence and engagement in therapy, in order to facilitate improved treatment outcomes and client satisfaction. This overarching aim and hypothesis was investigated in three empirical studies, presented as a series of published and unpublished papers. Study One investigated the use of Short Message Service (SMS) appointment reminders. It was predicted that the SMS prompts, delivered the day prior to a scheduled appointment at an outpatient psychology clinic, would decrease client non attendance and dropout. In a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), 140 participants were allocated to either receive SMS appointment reminders or to receive no reminders. No significant differences were found between the two conditions in relation to client attendance. Dropout was higher in the SMS condition than in the no SMS condition. It was concluded that the SMS reminders did not increase client adherence to appointment attendance behaviours. This study also highlighted the importance of careful examination of technological interventions before dissemination.
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View more >The aim of this thesis was to investigate the use of mobile phones as an adjunct to face-to-face psychotherapy. This aim was developed from two structured reviews of the literature concerning the types of adjunctive technologies in use, and the ways in which they have been used to increase adherence. Adjunctive use of the mobile phone was investigated in regards to its capacity to achieve greater client adherence and engagement in therapy, in order to facilitate improved treatment outcomes and client satisfaction. This overarching aim and hypothesis was investigated in three empirical studies, presented as a series of published and unpublished papers. Study One investigated the use of Short Message Service (SMS) appointment reminders. It was predicted that the SMS prompts, delivered the day prior to a scheduled appointment at an outpatient psychology clinic, would decrease client non attendance and dropout. In a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), 140 participants were allocated to either receive SMS appointment reminders or to receive no reminders. No significant differences were found between the two conditions in relation to client attendance. Dropout was higher in the SMS condition than in the no SMS condition. It was concluded that the SMS reminders did not increase client adherence to appointment attendance behaviours. This study also highlighted the importance of careful examination of technological interventions before dissemination.
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Thesis Type
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Degree Program
Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology (PhD ClinPsych)
School
School of Applied Psychology
Copyright Statement
The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
Item Access Status
Public
Subject
Applied and developmental psychology
Cognitive and computational psychology
Social and personality psychology
Adjunctive technologies
Mobile phones
Short Message Service (SMS)
Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT)
Therapy appointments