Mental Health Problems During COVID-19 and Attitudes Toward Digital Therapeutics

Abstract

Objective We aimed to elucidate public mental health problems and associated factors during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Furthermore, we evaluated people’s attitudes toward digital therapeutics during the pandemic.Methods Data was collected online from participants, aged between 20–50 without any history of mental illness, from June 1st to June 30th 2021. The survey consisted of questions regarding demographics, changes during pandemic and attitude towards digital therapeutics, and mental health measures.Results Among the total of 445 participants, 49.2% reported significant level of stress and 13.5% and 7.0% met the screening criteria for major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, respectively. Significant predictive factors for mental health problems were-younger age group, female sex, currently being treated for medical or surgical disease, change in the amount of time spent on mobile device or computer after pandemic, change in household income, and change in work environment due to pandemic. Furthermore, 35.1% of participants, considered psychiatric consultation, at least slightly, but were hesitant to receive it due to the fear of contacting COVID-19 at the clinics. Instead, 54.4% of them preferred using digital therapeutics as an alternative to visiting offline clinics.Conclusion We demonstrated that COVID-19 increased mental health problems along with access problems and identified their predictive factors. Digital therapeutics emerged as a viable solution to mental health problems and it was well-received by those in need of psychiatric consultation. Therefore, development and implementation of digital therapeutics should be considered to improve the mental health of people.

Exploring depressive symptom trajectories in COVID-19 patients with clinically mild condition in South Korea using remote patient monitoring: longitudinal data analysis

“…Digital therapeutics have been reported to be effective for patients with mental illnesses ( 33 , 34 ). During the COVID-19 pandemic, even the general population without a history of mental illness preferred digital therapeutics to visiting psychiatric clinics ( 35 ). Thus, worsening of depressive symptoms may be prevented by offering digital therapeutics intervention to those with early detection during quarantine, when visit to the clinic in person can be limited ( 36 ).…”

Sustaining and Expanding Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (ICBT) for Public Safety Personnel across Canada: A Survey of Stakeholder Perspectives

“…For example, recent surveys of attitudes toward digital mental health interventions include a large Canadian study in which 51% of participants reported an interest in having access to digital mental health interventions [ 31 ]; two German studies showing poor acceptance of digital mental health interventions [ 30 , 32 ]; a German study showing that 66% of participants perceived internet interventions as useful or helpful [ 33 ]; and a British study showing negative attitudes towards computerized mental health treatments, despite a recognition of their convenience [ 34 ]. There is also some evidence that attitudes towards digital mental healthcare services improved during the COVID-19 pandemic; for instance, a recent South Korean study found that 35% of participants reported hesitance to attend an offline clinic due to fear of contracting COVID-19, and 54% reported a preference for digital therapeutics [ 46 ]. The present findings and those of two prior studies [ 13 , 24 ] suggest that Canadian PSP tend to have more favorable attitudes towards ICBT than past research participants from around the world have had towards digital mental health interventions.…”

The Metaverse for Healthcare: Trends, Applications, and Future Directions of Digital Therapeutics for Urology

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a significant transformation in the healthcare landscape, particularly in terms of its delivery, demand, payment, and regulations. As a result, the digital therapeutics industry has emerged as a promising and efficient solution to address these changes [ 3 ]. Digital therapeutics refer to evidence-based therapeutic interventions that utilize software programs to prevent, manage, and treat physical, mental, and behavioral health conditions.…”