Advances in Mobile Mental Health: Opportunities and Implications for the Spectrum of E-Mental Health Services

Abstract

Mobile health (mHealth), telemedicine and other technology-based services facilitate mental health service delivery and may be considered part of an e-mental health (eMH) spectrum of care. Web-and Internet-based resources provide a great opportunity for the public, patients, healthcare providers and others to improve wellness, practice prevention and reduce suffering from illnesses. Mobile apps offer portability for access anytime/anywhere, are inexpensive versus traditional desktop computers, and have additional features (e.g., context-aware interventions and sensors with real-time feedback. This paper discusses mobile mental health (mMH) options, as part of a broader framework of eMH options. The evidence-based literature shows that many people have an openness to technology as a way to help themselves, change behaviors and engage additional clinical services. Studies show that traditional video-based synchronous telepsychiatry (TP) is as good as in-person service, but mHealth outcomes have been rarely, directly compared to in-person and other eMH care options. Similarly, technology options added to in-person care or combined with others have not been evaluated nor linked with specific goals and desired outcomes. Skills and competencies for clinicians are needed for mHealth, social media and other new technologies in the eMH spectrum, in addition to research by randomized trials and study of health service delivery models with an emphasis on effectiveness.

A digital companion for ecological momentary assessment and prevention of suicide: A case series on the use of the emma app

“…Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), also commonly defined as experience sampling method, allows collecting longitudinal fine-grained data as they occur in the real world. It gives an accurate picture of the patient's symptoms [16], and reduces the impact of self-report response bias, thus leading to a better appreciation of the temporal dynamics of suicide risk [17]. Davidson et al regretted that this method has been fairly neglected in suicidology [18].…”

Creating a Digital Health Smartphone App and Digital Phenotyping Platform for Mental Health and Diverse Healthcare Needs: an Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Approach

“…The potential of digital mental health to increase access to high-quality and evidence-based mental healthcare continues to inspire investment, innovation, and progress. Whether measured by more than 10,000 mental health-related apps directly available for download today (Torous and Roberts 2017), exponential rise in academically published papers (Firth et al 2016), or millions of dollars invested (Safavi et al 2019), the field is clearly rapidly advancing (Hilty et al 2017). Yet, actual uptake of mental health apps by patients (Fleming et al 2018;Noel et al 2018) and clinicians (Schueller et al 2016) remains low.…”

Wem nützt die App? Internet- und mobilgestützte Interventionen (IMIs) im Spannungsfeld von Autonomie und Patientenwohl

“…Manche IMIs enthalten jedoch andere therapeutische Konzepte, wie etwa die Achtsamkeitsbasierte Kognitive Therapie [2] oder die Psychodynamische Psychotherapie [4]. IMIs haben sich in allen Behandlungsphasen als effektiv erweisen, sowohl in der Prävention [5,8] als auch in der Therapie [3,4,7,9] sowie in der Nachbehandlung, v. a. der Rückfallprophylaxe [5].…”

“…Als Vorteil von IMIs wird in der Forschung neben der zu erwartenden Kostenreduktion [5,9] und der vergleichsweise hohen Behandlungsadhärenz [10] v. a. das Potenzial hervorgehoben, 2 wesentliche Ziele zu erreichen: Erstens sollen IMIs das Empowerment, also die Förderung der Autonomie von Patienten ermöglichen [6,9,11]. IMIs können dazu beitragen, dass der Patient sich aktiv an der Therapie beteiligt oder auch therapeutische Angebote ohne Anleitung nutzt.…”