Personalised computerised feedback in E-mental health

Abstract

Background

Personalised feedback constitutes an important component of E- and M-mental health applications (E = electronic and M = mobile computing and communication technologies) for disease prevention and management. It can be used to increase motivation, highlight risks, change attitudes and counterbalance the lack of personal contact in computerised health interventions. Research suggests that compared with targeted or generic feedback, personalised feedback is a more effective intervention component. Aims: To discuss challenges and options for the generation and delivery of personalised feedback in E- and M-mental health interventions. Suggestions for the development of normative, summative and ipsative feedback are provided. Results: We demonstrate how information from (multiple) assessments and/or data from comparable samples can be integrated into statistically supported and user-friendly feedback without including test scores. Conclusion: Proposals made in this paper need to be the subject of empirical studies and should be tested in terms of their feasibility, acceptability and efficacy.

Keywords:

• personalised feedback
• computer
• internet
• web-based
• E-health