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Case Reports
. 2018 May 25:4:15.
doi: 10.21037/mhealth.2018.05.01. eCollection 2018.

PTSD Coach around the world

Eric Kuhn  1   2 , Christianne van der Meer  3 , Jason E Owen  1 , Julia E Hoffman  1 , Richard Cash  4 , Pasqualina Carrese  5 , Miranda Olff  3   6 , Anne Bakker  3 , Julia Schellong  7 , Patrick Lorenz  7 , Matthias Schopp  8 , Heinrich Rau  9 , Kerstin Weidner  7 , Filip K Arnberg  10   11 , Martin Cernvall  10 , Thomas Iversen  12
Affiliations
Case Reports

PTSD Coach around the world

Eric Kuhn et al. Mhealth. .

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a global public health problem. Unfortunately, many individuals with PTSD do not receive professional care due to a lack of available providers, stigma about mental illness, and other concerns. Technology-based interventions, including mobile phone applications (apps) may be a viable means of surmounting such barriers and reaching and helping those in need. Given this potential, in 2011 the U.S Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD released PTSD Coach, a mobile app intended to provide psycho-education and self-management tools for trauma survivors with PTSD symptoms. Emerging research on PTSD Coach demonstrates high user satisfaction, feasibility, and improvement in PTSD symptoms and other psychosocial outcomes. A model of openly sharing the app's source code and content has resulted in versions being created by individuals in six other countries: Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. These versions are described, highlighting their significant adaptations, enhancements, and expansions to the original PTSD Coach app as well as emerging research on them. It is clear that the sharing of app source code and content has benefited this emerging PTSD Coach community, as well as the populations they are targeting. Despite this success, challenges remain especially reaching trauma survivors in areas where few or no other mental health resources exist.

Keywords: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); mobile applications (mobile apps); public health; smartphones; trauma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: This manuscript is partially based on: PTSD Coach around the World: A Global Perspective on a Smartphone App Designed for Self-management of PTSD Symptoms. Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Dallas, TX, November, 2016. Chair: Christianne van der Meer.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Home screen of U.S. PTSD Coach.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Symptom history screen of PTSD Coach Australia.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Manage symptoms screen of PTSD Coach Canada.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Agenda screen for SUPPORT Coach Netherlands.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Home screen of CoachPTBS Germany.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Home screen of PTSD Coach Sweden.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Track symptoms screen of PTSD Coach Denmark.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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