Technology in Healthcare
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute mobiletype program reducing depressive symptoms in teens A program that uses mobile phones to track the mental health of young people has been found to successfully decrease depression in users. Mobiletype is a youth-friendly, innovative mobile phone mental health assessment and management tool which assesses young people’s mood and associated symptoms and behaviours daily. The world-first mobiletype program, which was developed by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, was first launched in 2010 and was utilised by young people aged 14 to 24 years old throughout Melbourne, and the Goulburn Valley and Albury - Wodonga regions. The mobiletype program was downloaded onto patient’s 12
mobile phones and used to monitor their daily experiences, helping young people understand and manage mild depressive symptoms. The monitoring program selfinitiates 4 times a day to assess the young person’s activities, stresses and other behaviours as they occur. The program uses an electronic diary that allows youths to report a broad range of daily experiences including mood, stress levels, coping strategies, alcohol and cannabis use, exercise, eating patterns and general lifestyle factors. Responses are sent to a website interface which evaluates and assesses each patient’s mental wellbeing and produces an individual report for their general practitioner (GP) to help them determine treatment required.