TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - Mental health outreach via supportive text messages during the CoViD-19 pandemic: improved mental health and reduced suicidal ideation after six weeks in subscribers of Text4Hope compared to a control population
JO  - International journal of environmental research and public health
A1  - Agyapong, Vincent I. O.
A1  - Shalaby, Reham
A1  - Hrabok, Marianne
A1  - Vuong, Wesley
A1  - Noble, Jasmine M.
A1  - Gusnowski, April
A1  - Mrklas, Kelly
A1  - Li, Daniel
A1  - Snaterse, Mark
A1  - Surood, Shireen
A1  - Cao, Bo
A1  - Li, Xin-Min
A1  - Greiner, Russell
A1  - Greenshaw, Andrew J.
SP  - e2157
EP  - e2157
VL  - 18
IS  - 4
N2  - BACKGROUND: In March 2020, Alberta Health Services launched Text4Hope, a free mental health text-message service. The service aimed to alleviate pandemic-associated stress, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and suicidal propensity. The effectiveness of Text4Hope was evaluated by comparing psychiatric parameters between two subscriber groups. <br><br>METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study with two arms: Text4Hope subscribers who received daily texts for six weeks, the intervention group (IG); and new Text4Hope subscribers who were yet to receive messages, the control group (CG). Logistic regression models were used in the analysis. <br><br>RESULTS: Participants in the IG had lower prevalence rates for moderate/high stress (78.8% vs. 88.0%), likely GAD (31.4% vs. 46.5%), and likely MDD (36.8% vs. 52.1%), respectively, compared to respondents in the CG. After controlling for demographic variables, the IG remained less likely to self-report symptoms of moderate/high stress (OR = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.41-0.75), likely GAD (OR = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.44-0.68), and likely MDD (OR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.47-0.73). The mean Composite Mental Health score, the sum of mean scores on the PSS, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 was 20.9% higher in the CG. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Text4Hope is an effective population-level intervention that helps reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar texting services should be implemented during global crises.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1661-7827
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042157
ID  - ref1
ER  -