Use of the Principles of Design Thinking to Address Limitations of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Youth: Viewpoint

Abstract

Numerous reviews and meta-analyses have indicated the enormous potential of technology to improve the appeal, effectiveness, cost, and reach of mental health interventions. However, the promise of digital mental health interventions for youth has not yet been realized. Significant challenges have been repeatedly identified, including engagement, fidelity, and the lack of personalization. We introduce the main tenets of design thinking and explain how they can specifically address these challenges, with an entirely new toolbox of mindsets and practices. In addition, we provide examples of a new wave of digital interventions to demonstrate the applicability of design thinking to a wide range of intervention goals. In the future, it will be critical for scientists and clinicians to implement their scientific standards, methods, and review outlets to evaluate the contribution of design thinking to the next iteration of digital mental health interventions for youth.

Young adolescents’ interest in a mental health casual video game

“…To date, there has been limited research working from a bottom-up approach to match the delivery of mental health content with the way youth are currently using technology. 8,11,22,23 Using CVGs may have additional advantages, such as providing scalable and non-stigmatizing ways to access therapeutic content for adolescents. Furthermore, young 'digital natives' may prefer this method over psychotherapies with counsellors and therapists, as they are more familiar and comfortable with this platform.…”

“…9 Many mental health tools aim to provide a full treatment program, which may be poor match with the way people often dip in and out of apps and programs. 10,11 In addition, some tools retain unnecessary components of traditional therapy within new technologies, a process described as 'skewmorphism'. 11 For example, weekly full or half hour sessions may work well for clinical appointments but are not necessarily the best use of internet formats.…”

“…10,11 In addition, some tools retain unnecessary components of traditional therapy within new technologies, a process described as 'skewmorphism'. 11 For example, weekly full or half hour sessions may work well for clinical appointments but are not necessarily the best use of internet formats. Deep understanding of target users' needs and behaviours, and high quality co-design processes are likely to be important for improving engagement and satisfaction with digital mental health tools.…”

Creating Healthy Change in the Preconception Period for Women with Overweight or Obesity: A Qualitative Study Using the Information–Motivation–Behavioural Skills Model

“…The present research, drawing on the problem-solving principles of design thinking [ 43 ], uses a human-centred approach that holds the emotional, functional and motivational needs of the user at the centre of the development process [ 44 ]. This study represents the first phase of this process in empathic engagement—with these findings being used to inform the development of an eHealth solution using the intervention mapping approach.…”

Reducing the Noise of Reality

“…The final benefit of applying SRD in the form of real games, based on our own experiences in the previously described police project, is that it forces the researchers to adopt a more iterative stance in their design process, which is crucial for a successful experimental setup using VR. Working closely with game designers often means that researchers need to (at least partially) adopt design thinking principles in their development process (Scholten & Granic, 2019). Creating a suitable VR environmentwith an immersive narrative and emotional experienceoften requires more than just handing a list of requirements to game designers.…”