Development of a Multiuser Interactive Health Response Application (MITHRA) for depression in women from a community-based organisation in India
Background In India, women in rural areas have high rates of depression. They have poor access to mental healthcare resources and, hence, mental health symptoms remain largely unaddressed. Existing mobile telephone applications (apps) do not engage end-users, lack local language options, may not b...
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Cambridge University Press
2025-03-01
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| Series: | BJPsych Open |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472425000080/type/journal_article |
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| author | Johnson-Pradeep Ruben Dhinagaran Devadass B. Ramakrishna Goud Yesenia Navarro-Aguirre Bharat Kalidindi Abijeet Waghmare Tony Raj Krishnamachari Srinivasan Pamela Y. Collins Amritha Bhat |
| author_facet | Johnson-Pradeep Ruben Dhinagaran Devadass B. Ramakrishna Goud Yesenia Navarro-Aguirre Bharat Kalidindi Abijeet Waghmare Tony Raj Krishnamachari Srinivasan Pamela Y. Collins Amritha Bhat |
| author_sort | Johnson-Pradeep Ruben |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Background
In India, women in rural areas have high rates of depression. They have poor access to mental healthcare resources and, hence, mental health symptoms remain largely unaddressed. Existing mobile telephone applications (apps) do not engage end-users, lack local language options, may not be socioculturally relevant and do not use audiovisual formats. We thus developed a mobile mental health app, Multiuser Interactive Health Response Application (MITHRA), to screen and provide brief behavioural intervention for mild to moderate depression among rural women attending self-help groups (SHGs) in India.
Aims
This qualitative study explores the process and findings of focus groups conducted with SHG administrators and women to inform the iterative development of the MITHRA app.
Method
In total, 22 participants were interviewed (17 SHG participants and five administrators), and a thematic analysis of the data was conducted using the acceptability of interventions framework.
Results
Frequent themes across the focus groups were affective attitude, burden, self-efficacy and perceived effectiveness. All women showed a positive attitude towards the app and depression interventions, while older women demonstrated less self-efficacy in using mobile mental health apps.
Conclusions
MITHRA is a promising app in the management of mild to moderate depression in women in SHG. With adequate training and education of family members, MITHRA has the potential to identify and treat women with mild to moderate depression.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dcc7569f08004fd9b7ab4132031602e2 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2056-4724 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BJPsych Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-dcc7569f08004fd9b7ab4132031602e22025-08-20T02:42:00ZengCambridge University PressBJPsych Open2056-47242025-03-011110.1192/bjo.2025.8Development of a Multiuser Interactive Health Response Application (MITHRA) for depression in women from a community-based organisation in IndiaJohnson-Pradeep Ruben0Dhinagaran Devadass1B. Ramakrishna Goud2Yesenia Navarro-Aguirre3Bharat Kalidindi4Abijeet Waghmare5Tony Raj6Krishnamachari Srinivasan7Pamela Y. Collins8Amritha Bhat9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9284-0650St John’s Medical College, Bengaluru, India St John’s Research Institute, Bengaluru, IndiaSt John’s Research Institute, Bengaluru, IndiaSt John’s Medical College, Bengaluru, IndiaDepartment of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USASt John’s Research Institute, Bengaluru, IndiaSt John’s Research Institute, Bengaluru, IndiaSt John’s Medical College, Bengaluru, India St John’s Research Institute, Bengaluru, IndiaSt John’s Medical College, Bengaluru, India St John’s Research Institute, Bengaluru, IndiaDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USADepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Background In India, women in rural areas have high rates of depression. They have poor access to mental healthcare resources and, hence, mental health symptoms remain largely unaddressed. Existing mobile telephone applications (apps) do not engage end-users, lack local language options, may not be socioculturally relevant and do not use audiovisual formats. We thus developed a mobile mental health app, Multiuser Interactive Health Response Application (MITHRA), to screen and provide brief behavioural intervention for mild to moderate depression among rural women attending self-help groups (SHGs) in India. Aims This qualitative study explores the process and findings of focus groups conducted with SHG administrators and women to inform the iterative development of the MITHRA app. Method In total, 22 participants were interviewed (17 SHG participants and five administrators), and a thematic analysis of the data was conducted using the acceptability of interventions framework. Results Frequent themes across the focus groups were affective attitude, burden, self-efficacy and perceived effectiveness. All women showed a positive attitude towards the app and depression interventions, while older women demonstrated less self-efficacy in using mobile mental health apps. Conclusions MITHRA is a promising app in the management of mild to moderate depression in women in SHG. With adequate training and education of family members, MITHRA has the potential to identify and treat women with mild to moderate depression. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472425000080/type/journal_articleDepressionmental health appsself-help groupsrural areawomen |
| spellingShingle | Johnson-Pradeep Ruben Dhinagaran Devadass B. Ramakrishna Goud Yesenia Navarro-Aguirre Bharat Kalidindi Abijeet Waghmare Tony Raj Krishnamachari Srinivasan Pamela Y. Collins Amritha Bhat Development of a Multiuser Interactive Health Response Application (MITHRA) for depression in women from a community-based organisation in India BJPsych Open Depression mental health apps self-help groups rural area women |
| title | Development of a Multiuser Interactive Health Response Application (MITHRA) for depression in women from a community-based organisation in India |
| title_full | Development of a Multiuser Interactive Health Response Application (MITHRA) for depression in women from a community-based organisation in India |
| title_fullStr | Development of a Multiuser Interactive Health Response Application (MITHRA) for depression in women from a community-based organisation in India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of a Multiuser Interactive Health Response Application (MITHRA) for depression in women from a community-based organisation in India |
| title_short | Development of a Multiuser Interactive Health Response Application (MITHRA) for depression in women from a community-based organisation in India |
| title_sort | development of a multiuser interactive health response application mithra for depression in women from a community based organisation in india |
| topic | Depression mental health apps self-help groups rural area women |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472425000080/type/journal_article |
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