Impact of supportive text messages on Depression

Patients with depression who received daily supportive text messages for three months as part of their outpatient treatment had about 25% greater reduction in their depressive symptom scores compared to patients who did not receive the daily supportive messages.

Patients with depression and alcohol use disorder who received daily supportive text messages for three months as part of their post-discharge community treatment had about 50 % greater reduction in their depression symptoms scores at compared to patients who did not receive the daily supportive messages as part of their post-discharge treatment. 

There was a 10.3% reduction in the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scale measured mean depression symptom score in Text4Hope subscribers who received the daily supportive messages for three months.

Subscribers of Text4Hope who had been enrolled for six weeks (Intervention Group) had significantly lower prevalence of depression compared to new subscribers during the same time period (Control Group) (36.8% vs. 52.1% respectively).

There was a significantly lower prevalence for likely Moderate Depressive Disorder (MDD) (25.2%) and suicidal thoughts/thoughts of self-harm (48.4%) for young adult subscribers of Text4Hope, with a small effect size in the intervention group compared to the control group.

For male subscribers of Text4Hope, the mean scores of Perceived Stress Scale-10, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scales and the Cumulative Mental Health score were significantly higher for a control male population compared to the intervention group by 11.4%, 28.8%, 25.8%, and 18.7%, respectively. Similarly, a statistically significantly lower prevalence was observed in the intervention group, compared to the control group for likely Major Depressive Disorder -MDD (58.15 vs. 37.4%) and likely Generalized Anxiety Disorder- GAD (50 vs. 30.8%), with a small effect size. The intervention group was a significant predictor for lower odds of both likely MDD and likely GAD while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics.

In a study which examined the effectiveness of Text4Hope program in alleviating psychological symptoms and improving wellbeing among subscribers in Alberta and Nova Scotia during the 2023 wildfires, there were significant reductions in the mean scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (−12.3%), Generalized Anxiety Disorder -7 scale (−14.8%), and the PTSD Checklist 5 (−5.8%), and an increase in the mean score on the WHO-5 Wellness Index from baseline to six weeks. In the naturalistic controlled study, the intervention group who had received the daily messages for six weeks had a significantly lower mean score on the PHQ-9 (−30.1%), GAD-7 (−29.4%), PTSD Checklist 5 (−17.5%), and the ninth question on the PHQ-9 (−60.0%) which measures the intensity of suicidal ideation, and an increase in the mean score on the WHO-5 Wellness Index (+24.7%) from baseline to six weeks compared to the control group who had subscribed to the program but had not yet received any messages.