Increasing User Adherence and Motivation in an e-Health Anxiety Treatment Protocol

Abstract

Background: The website of an anxiety treatment provides patients with easy access to the materials of the training. However, the content available there is the same as that what is already in their patient handbook. This means that the treatment is provided digitally in a basic manner. Providing mental health treatments via the internet presents opportunities to improve aspects of the therapy. This research presents several adaptations to the existing online treatment. Objective: Improve the adherence and motivation of patients in an existing online anxiety treatment protocol by utilizing traits of internet-based health interventions. Methods: This research constitutes two parts: for the first part therapists have been interviewed; the second part resulted in the development of several adaptations to the online treatment which have been evaluated by means of a pre-condition and a post-condition questionnaire. Results: 21 participants took part in the questionnaires. The traits of internet-based health interventions have increased (interactivity Δ=3.43, P<.001; multimedia Δ=3.48, P<.001; personalization Δ=2.14, P<.001). The motivation to use the online treatment has increased. The addition of multimedia formats and interactivity in the form of a game had the greatest influence on motivation (score=.592 on a 0-1 scale). Conclusions: The different adaptations that have been implemented in this research have proven to enhance the pleasure of activities in the online treatment. However, this research has been done on a small scale and without real patients suffering from an anxiety disorder.