TY - JOUR
T1 - Text4Hope
T2 - Receiving Daily Supportive Text Messages for Three Months during the COVID-19 Pandemic Reduces Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
AU - Agyapong, Vincent I.O.
AU - Hrabok, Marianne
AU - Shalaby, Reham
AU - Vuong, Wesley
AU - Noble, Jasmine M.
AU - Gusnowski, April
AU - Mrklas, Kelly
AU - Li, Daniel
AU - Urichuck, Liana
AU - Snaterse, Mark
AU - Surood, Shireen
AU - Cao, Bo
AU - Li, Xin Min
AU - Greiner, Russ
AU - Greenshaw, Andrew J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Background: This study reports on the changes in stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms of subscribers after 3 months using Text4Hope, a supportive text messaging program designed to provide support during the pandemic. Methods: Standardized self-report measures were used to evaluate perceived stress (measured with the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10)), anxiety (measured with the General Anxiety Disorder Scale 7 (GAD-7)), and depressive symptoms (measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)), at baseline and 3 months (n=373). Results: After 3 months of using Text4Hope, subscribers' self-reports revealed significant (p<0.001) mean score reductions compared to baseline on: the GAD-7 by 22.7%, PHQ-9 by 10.3%, and PSS-10 scores by 5.7%. Reductions in inferred prevalence rates for moderate to high symptoms were also observed, with anxiety demonstrating the largest reduction (15.7%). Conclusions: Observed Text4Hope-related reductions in psychological distress during COVID-19 indicate that Text4Hope is an effective, convenient, and accessible means of implementing a population-level psychological intervention.
AB - Background: This study reports on the changes in stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms of subscribers after 3 months using Text4Hope, a supportive text messaging program designed to provide support during the pandemic. Methods: Standardized self-report measures were used to evaluate perceived stress (measured with the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10)), anxiety (measured with the General Anxiety Disorder Scale 7 (GAD-7)), and depressive symptoms (measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)), at baseline and 3 months (n=373). Results: After 3 months of using Text4Hope, subscribers' self-reports revealed significant (p<0.001) mean score reductions compared to baseline on: the GAD-7 by 22.7%, PHQ-9 by 10.3%, and PSS-10 scores by 5.7%. Reductions in inferred prevalence rates for moderate to high symptoms were also observed, with anxiety demonstrating the largest reduction (15.7%). Conclusions: Observed Text4Hope-related reductions in psychological distress during COVID-19 indicate that Text4Hope is an effective, convenient, and accessible means of implementing a population-level psychological intervention.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85100708972&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/dmp.2021.27
DO - 10.1017/dmp.2021.27
M3 - Article
C2 - 33551009
AN - SCOPUS:85100708972
SN - 1935-7893
JO - Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
JF - Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
ER -
