{"id":12735,"date":"2026-03-05T14:08:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T14:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/?p=12735"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:08:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T14:08:59","slug":"digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/","title":{"rendered":"SESCS PUBLICATION: Exploring digital health tools for depression management in primary health care: Systematic review and meta-analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

A\u00efna Fuster-Casanovas, Sonia Moret\u00f3 Melero, Daniela Cabutto, Carme Carrion, Josep Vidal-Alaball, Estefania Herrera-Ramos, Carles Barcons, Andrea Duarte-D\u00edaz<\/p>\n

ABSTRACT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

Digital health tools are transforming mental health care, particularly in treating depression, which affects 5 % of the global population and is projected to be the top disease burden by 2030. In primary care, these tools improve accessibility and efficacy, addressing rising mental health demands, especially post-COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Objective<\/strong><\/p>\n

The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of digital health tools for the management of depression within primary care.<\/p>\n

Methods<\/strong><\/p>\n

A systematic review followed PRISMA guidelines, focusing on digital health tools for reducing depressive symptoms. Controlled trials were included, with RCTs assessed via the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool and non-RCTs evaluated using the JBI checklist for quasi-experimental studies. Depressive symptom reduction was the primary outcome.<\/p>\n

Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

A total of 29 controlled trials met the inclusion criteria, identifying were web-based platforms, mobile apps, phone calls, text messages, and decision algorithms. The meta-analysis revealed that digital health tools had a significant effect on depressive symptoms (g = \u22120.22, 95 % CI: \u22120.37; \u22120.06, I2 = 79.64 %). At 6 to 12-month follow-up, the random effects meta-analysis showed that digital health tools had a significant effect on depressive symptoms (g = \u22120.19, 95%CI: \u22120.29; \u22120.09, I2 = 53.42 %).<\/p>\n

Conclusions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Digital health tools are effective in reducing the symptoms of repression. Symptom severity does not predict suitability for digital treatment, emphasizing the need for gender-sensitive approaches and strategies for older adults. Integrating digital interventions into clinical guidelines requires studies like this to support their adoption in real-world practice.<\/p>\n

You can read the full article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A\u00efna Fuster-Casanovas, Sonia Moret\u00f3 Melero, Daniela Cabutto, Carme Carrion, Josep Vidal-Alaball, Estefania Herrera-Ramos, Carles Barcons, Andrea Duarte-D\u00edaz ABSTRACT Background Digital … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6868,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[229,105],"tags":[538,259,233,564,563,281,562],"class_list":["post-12735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","tag-depression","tag-digital-health-en","tag-health-en","tag-mhealth-en","tag-primary-health-care","tag-salud-en","tag-telemedicine"],"yoast_head":"\nSESCS PUBLICATION: Exploring digital health tools for depression management in primary health care: Systematic review and meta-analysis | SESCS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mantente al d\u00eda de las novedades del Servicio de Evaluaci\u00f3n y Planificaci\u00f3n del Servicio Canario de la Salud (SESCS).\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SESCS PUBLICATION: Exploring digital health tools for depression management in primary health care: Systematic review and meta-analysis | SESCS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mantente al d\u00eda de las novedades del Servicio de Evaluaci\u00f3n y Planificaci\u00f3n del Servicio Canario de la Salud (SESCS).\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SESCS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SESCS2018\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-05T14:08:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"956\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"507\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"DifusionSESCS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@_SESCS_\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@_SESCS_\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"DifusionSESCS\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"DifusionSESCS\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#\/schema\/person\/0afad8715d2bf9946320c765357c64b4\"},\"headline\":\"SESCS PUBLICATION: Exploring digital health tools for depression management in primary health care: Systematic review and meta-analysis\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-05T14:08:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/\"},\"wordCount\":269,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Depression\",\"Digital Health\",\"Health\",\"mHealth\",\"Primary health care\",\"Salud\",\"Telemedicine\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Featured\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/\",\"name\":\"SESCS PUBLICATION: Exploring digital health tools for depression management in primary health care: Systematic review and meta-analysis | SESCS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-05T14:08:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"Mantente al d\u00eda de las novedades del Servicio de Evaluaci\u00f3n y Planificaci\u00f3n del Servicio Canario de la Salud (SESCS).\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.jpg\",\"width\":956,\"height\":507,\"caption\":\"Predictores sociodemogr\u00e1ficos y cl\u00ednicos de la adherencia a los antidepresivos en los trastornos depresivos: una revisi\u00f3n sistem\u00e1tica con un metan\u00e1lisis\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/\",\"name\":\"SESCS\",\"description\":\"Servicio de Evaluaci\u00f3n del Servicio Canario de Salud - Reduciendo la incertidumbre en las decisiones\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Servicio de Evaluaci\u00f3n del Servicio Canario de Salud\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SESCS\",\"alternateName\":\"Servicio de Evaluaci\u00f3n del Servicio Canario de Salud\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.png\",\"width\":956,\"height\":507,\"caption\":\"SESCS\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SESCS2018\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/_SESCS_\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/sescs-canarias\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#\/schema\/person\/0afad8715d2bf9946320c765357c64b4\",\"name\":\"DifusionSESCS\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c24f11df1d2d674dcd9fa2615e7ce27c9c510cedb6048bb0e9f2e622d2334ddc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c24f11df1d2d674dcd9fa2615e7ce27c9c510cedb6048bb0e9f2e622d2334ddc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c24f11df1d2d674dcd9fa2615e7ce27c9c510cedb6048bb0e9f2e622d2334ddc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"DifusionSESCS\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/author\/difusionsescs\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SESCS PUBLICATION: Exploring digital health tools for depression management in primary health care: Systematic review and meta-analysis | SESCS","description":"Mantente al d\u00eda de las novedades del Servicio de Evaluaci\u00f3n y Planificaci\u00f3n del Servicio Canario de la Salud (SESCS).","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SESCS PUBLICATION: Exploring digital health tools for depression management in primary health care: Systematic review and meta-analysis | SESCS","og_description":"Mantente al d\u00eda de las novedades del Servicio de Evaluaci\u00f3n y Planificaci\u00f3n del Servicio Canario de la Salud (SESCS).","og_url":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/","og_site_name":"SESCS","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SESCS2018","article_published_time":"2026-03-05T14:08:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":956,"height":507,"url":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"DifusionSESCS","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@_SESCS_","twitter_site":"@_SESCS_","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"DifusionSESCS","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/"},"author":{"name":"DifusionSESCS","@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#\/schema\/person\/0afad8715d2bf9946320c765357c64b4"},"headline":"SESCS PUBLICATION: Exploring digital health tools for depression management in primary health care: Systematic review and meta-analysis","datePublished":"2026-03-05T14:08:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/"},"wordCount":269,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.jpg","keywords":["Depression","Digital Health","Health","mHealth","Primary health care","Salud","Telemedicine"],"articleSection":["Featured","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/","url":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/","name":"SESCS PUBLICATION: Exploring digital health tools for depression management in primary health care: Systematic review and meta-analysis | SESCS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-05T14:08:59+00:00","description":"Mantente al d\u00eda de las novedades del Servicio de Evaluaci\u00f3n y Planificaci\u00f3n del Servicio Canario de la Salud (SESCS).","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/digital-health-tools-for-depression-primary-care\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.jpg","width":956,"height":507,"caption":"Predictores sociodemogr\u00e1ficos y cl\u00ednicos de la adherencia a los antidepresivos en los trastornos depresivos: una revisi\u00f3n sistem\u00e1tica con un metan\u00e1lisis"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/","name":"SESCS","description":"Servicio de Evaluaci\u00f3n del Servicio Canario de Salud - Reduciendo la incertidumbre en las decisiones","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Servicio de Evaluaci\u00f3n del Servicio Canario de Salud","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#organization","name":"SESCS","alternateName":"Servicio de Evaluaci\u00f3n del Servicio Canario de Salud","url":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Imagen-noticia-Sescs-2.png","width":956,"height":507,"caption":"SESCS"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SESCS2018","https:\/\/x.com\/_SESCS_","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/sescs-canarias\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/#\/schema\/person\/0afad8715d2bf9946320c765357c64b4","name":"DifusionSESCS","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c24f11df1d2d674dcd9fa2615e7ce27c9c510cedb6048bb0e9f2e622d2334ddc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c24f11df1d2d674dcd9fa2615e7ce27c9c510cedb6048bb0e9f2e622d2334ddc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c24f11df1d2d674dcd9fa2615e7ce27c9c510cedb6048bb0e9f2e622d2334ddc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"DifusionSESCS"},"url":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/author\/difusionsescs\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12735"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12736,"href":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12735\/revisions\/12736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sescs.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}