Mobile application for mental wellness training

The application, developed to run on a smartphone,

teaches skills to promote well-being and relieve stress

using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT

consists of an innovative mix of experiential tech-

niques and behavioural interventions. It has proved

effective in the treatment of a wide range of problems

including work-related stress and depression.

Work-related stress is one of Europe’s greatest prob-

lems in occupational health and safety. Almost one

in four employees suffers from stress and 50–60 per-

cent of working days that are lost are stress-related.

The annual cost of stress in the European Union is

estimated around 20 billion euros, mainly due to lost

working time and health care expenditure.

Targeting lifestyle changesThe application, called Oiva, is designed to help indi-

viduals develop skills that will improve their mental

wellness. The aim is to improve the user’s psychologi-

cal flexibility, motivation and ability to make lifestyle

changes. Oiva runs on Android mobile phones and

As part of SalWe’s Mind and Body Programme, a smartphone application has been developed to enhance quality of life and alleviate stress. The development work has been done in collaboration between VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the University of Jyväskylä.

www.salwe.fi

SalWe - Strategic Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation in Health and Well-being

tablets. It has been developed in SalWe’s Mind and

Body Programme, as a joint project of VTT Technical

Research Centre of Finland and the Department of

Psychology of the University of Jyväskylä.

“Skills are learned through exercises that are conve-

niently brief and can easily be repeated over the day.

The exercises improve the user’s ability to be mindfully

present and to change or persist in behaviour based

on personal values,” explains Professor Raimo Lap-palainen of the University of Jyväskylä.

“Oiva consists of four intervention modules that con-

tain a total of 45 audio and text exercises, plus videos

on promoting mental and physical health. It features

guided navigation through the application, sends re-

minders and provides a diary for notes and reflec-

tions. The application’s content, display and structure

can be adapted and personalized to suit the needs of

different target groups,” says Senior Scientist Elina Mattila of VTT.

Successful pilot projectDevelopment work on Oiva began in spring 2011. By

spring 2012 it was ready for a one-month pilot study

to be carried out.

Fifteen people took part in the study. Each user used

the application for several sessions totalling, on aver-

age, 192 minutes per user. All the users reported sig-

nificant improvements in quality of life and the more

active half of them also experienced stress reduction.

The application was well-accepted by the users, who

also felt it was useful. A few examples of the benefits

reported by the users:

• Oiva helped to relax and take breaks during the day.

• Oiva made it easier to fall asleep at night.

• Oiva promoted re-examination of personal values.

• Oiva helped let go of disruptive thoughts.

The users stated they would have liked a longer usage

period, to obtain more profound changes and effects.

Follow-up studies on different target groupsIn autumn 2012, a broader intervention study was

started among working-age people suffering from

work-related stress and features of metabolic syn-

drome. Starting in spring 2013, Oiva will be evaluated

with couples expecting their first baby, with the aim

of improving their diet and preventing post-partum

depression.

More information

Elina Mattila senior scientist VTT Technical Research Centre of Finlandelina.m.mattila@vtt.fi+358 20 722 3384

Raimo Lappalainen professor University of Jyväskylä raimo.lappalainen@psyka.jyu.fi+358 50 443 2349

SalWe - Strategic Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation in Health and Well-being