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©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Feb 19, 2026; 16(2): 112054
Published online Feb 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i2.112054
Published online Feb 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i2.112054
Internet plus-based post-discharge continuity care for mild-to-moderate depression: An exploratory study
Pei-Pei Lin, Department of General Psychiatry, Wenzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang Province, China
Wei-Wei Lv, Department of Integrated Psychiatry, Wenzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang Province, China
Chun-Mian Chen, Dean’s Office, Wenzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Wei-Wei Lv and Chun-Mian Chen.
Author contributions: Lin PP conceptualized and designed the study, conducted patient recruitment and clinical assessments, performed data collection and preliminary analysis, and drafted the initial manuscript; Lv WW led the implementation of the “Internet+” nursing intervention, supervised data acquisition and quality control, conducted statistical analysis and interpretation, revised the manuscript critically for intellectual content, and approved the final version for submission; Chen CM provided methodological guidance and study oversight, secured ethical approval and institutional resources, validated statistical results and clinical implications, edited and finalized the manuscript, and corresponded with journal editorial teams; Lv WW and Chen CM contributed equally to this article as the co-corresponding authors of this manuscript; and all authors thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.
Supported by the Wenzhou Basic Research Project, No. Y2023735.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Wenzhou Seventh People’s Hospital (approval No. (2024) 16).
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all participating patients and their legal guardians.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Data sharing statement: In accordance with medical data confidentiality principles, de-identified research data may be obtained upon reasonable request to the corresponding author. Data sharing must comply with hospital data management regulations and require the signing of a confidentiality agreement.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Wei-Wei Lv, Department of Integrated Psychiatry, Wenzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, No. 158 Xueshi Qian Road, Panqiao Subdistrict, Ouhai District, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang Province, China. 13858859553@163.com
Received: July 22, 2025
Revised: August 26, 2025
Accepted: November 12, 2025
Published online: February 19, 2026
Processing time: 191 Days and 23 Hours
Revised: August 26, 2025
Accepted: November 12, 2025
Published online: February 19, 2026
Processing time: 191 Days and 23 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study investigates the impact of an “Internet+”-based extended care model on patients with mild to moderate depression following hospital discharge. It demonstrates that integrating Internet-based real-time supervision, reminders, and education significantly reduces anxiety and depressive symptoms (measured by Hamilton Anxiety Scale and Hamilton Depression Scale scores), enhances cognitive function (Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale scores), and improves medication adherence and quality of life compared to traditional care methods. Furthermore, this innovative approach boosts patient satisfaction and strengthens nursing staff’s professional identity, highlighting its potential as a scalable intervention for post-hospital treatment of depression.