Symposia
Technology
Meaghan McCallum, Ph.D.
Noom, Inc.
New York, New York
Annabell Ho, PhD
Academic Research Associate
Noom, Inc
New York, NY
E. Siobhan Mitchell, PhD
Senior Director of Academic Research
Noom, Inc.
New York, New York
Christine May, Ph.D.
Academic Partnership Manager
Noom, Inc
New York, NY
Heather Behr, PhD
Research Project Manager
Noom, Inc
New York, NY
Lorie A. Ritschel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Clinic Director
UNC School of Medicine; Triangle Area Psychology Clinic
Durham, North Carolina
Kirk D. Mochrie, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Triangle Area Psychology (TAP) Clinic
Cary, North Carolina
Andreas Michaelides, PhD
Chief of Psychology
Noom, Inc
New York, NY
Mobile mental health programs have been found to provide support to nonclinical populations and may overcome some of the barriers associated with traditional in-person treatment; however, researchers have voiced concerns that many publicly available mobile mental health programs lack evidence-based theoretical foundations, peer-reviewed research, and sufficient engagement from the public. Therefore, this study evaluates the usability, feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of Noom Mood, a publicly available mobile Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)- and mindfulness-based program. In this single-arm prospective cohort study, individuals who joined Noom Mood between August and October 2021 completed surveys at baseline and 4-week follow-up. Engagement within the app was also assessed via number of app opens, content read, messages exchanged with coaches, skills-based activities completed, and number of mood logs completed. Per-protocol analyses included those who completed both surveys (N=113), and intent-to-treat analyses included all participants (N=185). Results suggest that Noom Mood is usable, feasible, and acceptable to participants; a majority of the sample reported that the program is easy to use, they felt confident recommending the program to a friend, and they perceived the program to be effective at improving stress and anxiety. There were significant improvements in anxiety, perceived stress, depressive feelings, emotion regulation, and optimism in both the per-protocol and intent-to-treat analyses. Participants reported benefiting most from learning skills (e.g., breathing and cognitive reframing techniques), interacting with the program features, and gaining awareness of their emotions and thought patterns. Participants also made a number of suggestions to improve product functionality and usability.