Behavioural Intervention Technologies for Depression Seminar

This talk will provide an overview of depression-related research within the Northwestern University Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies (CBITs). This research aims to develop and evaluate behavioral intervention technologies (BITs) that harness web-based, mobile and sensor technologies to extend behavioral and psychological treatment to patients in their environments. In addition to developing and evaluating BITs, we are examining methods of improving adherence to these intervention tools.

This talk will focus on two methods: human support and the use of context sensing. Human support has frequently been shown to enhance the efficacy and use of web-based treatments for depression. A model for human support, called supportive accountability, will be described, along with initial data from its application in web-based interventions. Our context sensing work seeks to harness the sensor data available on smartphones to identify relevant patient states in real time, minimizing the need for patient’s to log data. Preliminary data on the development of our context sensing system will be described.