Levantamento e avaliação de aplicativos sobre ansiedade e depressão disponíveis em língua portuguesa

Abstract

Objective: Conduct a survey and an evaluation of applications on anxiety and depression in Portuguese, on Android and iOS platforms. Method: This is an exploratory, descriptive research, in which a search was carried out on these platforms between August 20 and September 6, 2019, using the terms "anxiety and depression". The applications were cataloged and selected according to the defined inclusion criteria (updated at least one year ago, in Portuguese). A framework for evaluating mental health applications was used as the basis. Results: 274 applications were found, of which 57 were evaluated, 53 for Android, 3 for iOS and 1 multiplatform. Regarding the cost, only 5% were not completely free. Most iOS applications have been excluded because they are only available in English. Conclusion: Mental health applications have the potential to reach a large portion of the population, being a promising strategy to decrease the incidence and prevalence of anxiety and depression. In the evaluation, problems were observed such as lack of accessibility, privacy policy, indication of information sources and scientific evidence that prove its effectiveness, despite that, the applications presented good experience of use.