Table 3.
Effect size of digital mental health services for reducing depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic according to study characteristics.
| Group | Studies, n | SMDa (95% CI) | Q | P value | |||||
| Sample size | 0.03 | .86 | |||||||
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≥81 | 8 | −0.51 (−0.86 to −0.16) |
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<81 | 7 | −0.46 (−0.84 to −0.09) |
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| Measurement of depression | 7.04 | .008 | |||||||
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DASS-21b | 4 | −0.13 (−0.31 to 0.06) |
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Other measurementsc | 11 | −0.61 (−0.91 to −0.30) |
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| Location | 0.41 | .52 | |||||||
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High-income countries | 11 | −0.53 (−0.83 to −0.24) |
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Low- and middle-income countries | 4 | −0.35 (−0.82 to 0.10) |
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| Duration of follow-up | 1.23 | .27 | |||||||
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Short-term | 12 | −0.55 (−0.84 to −0.26) |
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Long-term | 3 | −0.28 (−0.66 to −0.09) |
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| Duration of intervention | 0.84 | .36 | |||||||
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≥4 weeks | 10 | −0.56 (−0.90 to −0.23) |
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<4 weeks | 5 | −0.34 (−0.68 to −0.02) |
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aSMD: standardized mean difference.
bDASS−21: Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21.
cOther measurements include Beck Depression Inventory-II, Brief Symptom Inventory, College Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale—Self rated, Patient Health Questionnaire, and Self-rating Depression Scale.