Pfizer has developed a new mobile health app named Moodivator to help motivate to help motivate and encourage the millions of adults who experience depression. An estimated 1 in 15 adults experience at least one major depressive episode in any given year.
To help support, encourage and motivate people with depression, the new app is designed to help patients set and achieve manageable goals—in areas from wellness to treatment—and turn those goals into routines. Patients can regularly log your mood to identify changes or patterns over time. The app is now available for download on iPhones for free at the Apple App Store.
Benefits of Using Mobile Apps to Manage Depression
70% of patients being treated for a mental health disorder say they want to use a mobile application to monitor their mental health on a daily basis, according to a 2014 survey. Mobile health apps like Pfizer’s Moodivator offer the potential to help address key barriers to accessing real-time support for depression. Patients also receive encouraging and inspirational messages in the app to help motivate them as they work to manage their depression.
Key Features of the Moodivator app include:
Goal setting: Ability to create customizable, manageable goals with clear action steps to help patients achieve them, which can be made across one or more categories, including work, home and family or social activities. Goals can be adjusted over time and turned into helpful habits as part of an ongoing routine.
Mood tracking: A simple scale lets patients track how they are feeling when it is convenient for them, whether multiple times a day or sporadically. Mood tracking is an important tool for improving patients’ emotional self-awareness. Tracking mood through a mobile app also offers the convenience of real-time reporting, which can make it easier to identify long-term patterns with their care team.
Sharing results: Opportunity for patients to share their goal progress with their care team, showcasing their progress through clear charts.
While mobile health apps can be an effective tool for managing depression, they are not a treatment for depression. Patients should always work with their doctors to determine the right treatment plan. Additionally, Moodivator includes information about a prescription treatment option for depression.
