Walk with mobile app to fight depression: An interventional study

Walk with mobile app to fight depression: An interventional study: Pradeep Tarikere Satyanarayana, Suhas Chandran



International Journal of Health & Allied Sciences 2020 9(2):122-126



BACKGROUND: Mobile health solutions can address looming problems of health. Smartphones have been integrated into global population with minimal constraints. Walking is the most convenient exercise as it can be self-regulated in intensity, duration, and frequency.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single group pre–post experimental study without any comparison group was carried out for a period of 12 months. A total of 150 study participants were enrolled using nonprobability sampling from households who had to walk for 40 min/day for 5 days in a week for 3 months with Google Fit health app as an exercise adherence tool, and mental health status was assessed using Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Data were entered using Microsoft Excel and were analyzed using SPSS version 22 (IBM Corp, USA). Statistically significant P value was defined asP < 0.05.

RESULTS: Of the 150 study participants, 64 (42.7%) belonged to 21–25 years, majority belonged to nuclear family, 100 (66.7%) participants had completed high school, and 86 (57.3%) of study participants were females. Around 14 participants (9.3%) before the intervention were found to have depression postintervention of exercise therapy, only 2 (1.3%) had depression. The baseline evaluation done showed higher depression scores, and postintervention had lower scores there was a statistically significant difference in scores. The study participants in all age groups, different educational status, different type of family, and gender showed statistically significant difference preexercise intervention and postexercise intervention.

CONCLUSION: Walking as an exercise although has established beneficial effects in preventing noncommunicable diseases, but its beneficial effects in fighting depression needs more evidence. Exercise can be a substantial alternative guided with health app to cope with the emerging noncommunicable diseases.