The Current Status of Global Digital Mental Health Implementation: Results and Implications of a Web-Based Survey from All WPA Regions

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the availability and use of digital mental health (DMH) across all World Psychiatric Association (WPA) regions (WR) and to guide future regional-tailored initiatives to upscale DMH contingent on introducing international policies, regulations, guidelines, education, and training, the WPA Working Group on Digital Psychiatry developed and disseminated a web-based survey among all 145 WPA National Psychiatric Association (NPA) members, according to official WR including (1) The Americas (WR1), (2) Europe (WR2), (3) Africa, Middle East, Central/Western Asia (WR3), and (4) Asia/Australasia (WR4). Collected data were analyzed using the Qualtrics analytic dashboard. The availability of digital tools/programs in DMH largely varies among WPA regions. In Europe and Asia/Australasia, mobile apps were the most available digital tools (respectively, 76.9% and 90.9%), followed by telemental health (respectively, 65.4% and 81.8%). Wearables, serious games, virtual/augmented reality, and chatbots represented the least commonly used tools/programs across all WR. National policies were mainly reported by Asia/Australasia (81.8%), followed by Europe (38.5%) and the Americas (27.3%). In all WR, less than 40% of NPAs reported the provision of education and training in the use of digital tools and programs in their countries. WPA regional analysis of digital needs promotes designing a roadmap to develop targeted actions to implement DMH and guide global digital upscaling of psychiatric services. Improving digital literacy and digital capacity building of the psychiatric workforce are key priorities for future digital initiatives led by the WPA across all WR.