Digital technology in mental health: limits and potential
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25746/ruiips.v12.i1.34066Keywords:
Mental Health Care, Psychiatry, Telemedicine, TechnologyAbstract
The aim of this study was to identify the limits and potentialities of providing mental health care through digital technology. This is a scoping review with a search strategy conducted in the MEDLINE, LILACS, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINHAL databases, using the keywords "mental health care," "psychiatry," "telemedicine," and "technology". Potentialities highlighted include increased access to healthcare, reduced stigma, anonymity, resource flexibility, cost reduction, and the elimination of physical and geographical barriers. Among the limitations, issues such as lack of internet access, limited knowledge of technologies, privacy and security concerns, maintenance costs of applications, digital literacy, and difficulties in maintaining a therapeutic relationship with the patient were mentioned. Thus, it is evident that mental health care through the use of technologies, despite implementation challenges, has the potential to improve health outcomes and the performance of mental health services.
References
Aggarwal, N. K. (2012). Applying mobile technologies to mental health service delivery in South Asia. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 5 (3), 225-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2011.12.009.
Ahmed, M. S., Kornblum, D., Fusar-Poli, P., Oliver, D., & Patel, R. (2023). Associations of remote mental healthcare with clinical outcomes: a natural language processing enriched electronic health record data study protocol. BMJ Open, 13(2), 1-6. https://doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067254.
Appleton R., Barnett, P., Juan, N. V. S., Lyons, E. T. N., Parker, J., Roxburgh, E., Spyridonidis, S., Tamworth, M., Worden, M., Yilmaz, M., Sevdalis, N., Lloyd-Evans, B., Needle, J. J., & Johnson S. (2023). Implementation strategies for telemental health: a systematic review.. BMC Health Services Research, 23(78), 2-24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08993-1.
Arafat, M., Y., Zaman, S., & Hawlader, M. D. H. (2021). Telemedicine improves mental health in COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Global Health, 11, 1-4. https://doi:10.7189/jogh.11.03004
Augusterfer, E. F., O’Neal, C. R., Martin, S. W., Sheikh, T. L., & Mollica, R. F. (2020). The Role of Telemental Health, Tele-consultation, and Tele-supervision in Post-disaster and Low-resource Settings. Current Psychiatry Reports, 22(85), 85-95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-020-01209-5
Berardi, C., Hinwood, M., Smith, A., Melia, A., & Paolucci, F. (2021). Barreiras e facilitadores para a integração de tecnologias digitais em sistemas de saúde mental: um protocolo para uma revisão sistemática qualitativa. Plos One, 16(11), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259995.
Borghouts, J., Eikey, E., Mark, G., Leon C., Schueller, S. M., Schneider, M., Stadnick, N., Zheng, K., Mukamel D., & Sorkin D. H. (2021). Barriers to and Facilitators of User Engagement With Digital Mental Health Interventions: Systematic Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(3), 1-10. https://doi: 10.2196/24387.
Brasil. (2023). Saúde Mental. https://www.gov.br/saude/pt-br/assuntos/saude-de-a-a-z/s/saude-mental.
East, M. L. & Harvard, B. C. (2015). Mental Health Mobile Apps: From Infusion to Diffusion in the Mental Health Social System. JMIR Ment Health, 2(1), 1-8. https://doi: 10.2196/mental.3954.
Farrer, L. M., Clough, B., Bekker M. J., Calear, A. L., Werner-Seidler, A., Nova, J, M., Knott, V., Entrega, P., Reynolds J., Brennan L., & Batterham, P. J. (2023). Telehealth use by mental health professionals during COVID-19. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 57 (2), 157-304. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867422108922.
Jenkins-Guarnieri, M., Pruitt, L. D., Luxton, D. D., & Johnson, K. (2015). Patient Perceptions of Telemental Health: Systematic Review of Direct Comparisons to In-Person Psychotherapeutic Treatments. Telemedicine and e-Health, 21(8), 652–660. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2014.0165.
Kobeissi, M. M., Hickey, J. V. (2023). An Infrastructure to Provide Safer, Higher-Quality, and More Equitable Telehealth. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 49(4), 213-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjq.2023.01.006.
Lal, S., Abdel-Baki, A., & Lee, H. (2021). Telepsychiatry services during COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey on the experiences and perspectives of young adults with first-episode psychosis. Early Interv Psychiatry, 1(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.13332.
Molfenter, T., Heitkamp, T., Cody, O. J., Behlman, S., Tapscott, S., & Murphy A. A. (2021). Use of Telehealth in Mental Health (MH) Services During and After COVID-19. Community Ment Health J, 57(7), 1244–1251. https://doi:10.1007/s10597-021-00861-2.
Peters, M. D. J., Marnie, C., Tricco, A. C., Pollock, D., Munn, Z., Alexander, L., McInerney, P., Godfrey, C. M., & Khalil, H. (2020). Updated methodological guidance for the conduct of scoping reviews. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 18(10), 2119-2126. https://doi.org/10.11124/JBIES-20-00167
Perry, K., Ouro, S., & Shearer, E. (2019). Identifying and addressing mental health providers perceived barriers to clinical video telehealth utilization. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 76(6), 1125-1134. https://doi10.1002/jclp.22770.
Powell, A. C., Chen, M., & Thammachart, C. (2017). The Economic Benefits of Mobile Apps for Mental Health and Telepsychiatry Services When Used by Adolescents. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 26(1), 125-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2016.07.013.
Price, M., Yuen, E. K., Goetter, E. M., Herbert, J. D., Ruggiero, K. J., Acierno R., & Forman E. M. (2014). mHealth: a mechanism to deliver more accessible, more effective mental health care. Clin Psychol Psychother, 21(5), 427–436. https://doi:10.1002/cpp.1855.
Pywell, J.; Vijaykumar, S.; Dodd, A.; Coventry, L. (2020). Barriers to older adults' uptake of mobile-based mental health interventions. Digit Health, 6(1), 1-15. https://doi:10.1177/2055207620905422.
Urness, D., Wass, M., Gordon, A., Tian, E., & Bulger, T. (2006). Client acceptability and quality of life – telepsychiatry compared to in-person consultation. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 12(5), 251–254. https://doi10.1258/135763306777889028.
Strudwick, G., Kemp, J., Crawford, A., Takhar, S. S., Munnery, M., Charow, R., Lo, B., Wiljer, S. S. D., Inglis, F., & Zhang T. (2020). Delivery of Compassionate Mental Health Care in a Digital Technology-Driven Age: Scoping Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(3), 1-10. https://doi10.2196/16263.
Thomas, L., Lee, C. M. Y., McClelland, K., Nunis, G., Robinson S., & Normando, R. (2023). Health workforce perceptions on telehealth augmentation opportunities. Health Services Research, 23(1), 182-191. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09174-4.
Tricco, A. C., Lillie, E., Zarin, W., O'Brien, K. K., Colquhoun, H., Levac, D., Moher, D., Peters, M. D. J., Horsley, T., Weeks, L., Hempel, S., Akl, E. A., Chang, C., McGowan, J., Stewart, L., Hartling, L., Aldcroft, A., Wilson, M. G., Garritty, C., Lewin, S., …Straus, S. E. (2018). PRISMA Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation. Annals of internal medicine, 169(7), 467–473. https://doi.org/10.7326/M18-0850
Wang K., Varma D., Prosperi M. (2018). A systematic review of the effectiveness of mobile apps for monitoring and management of mental health symptoms or disorders. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 107(1), 73-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.10.006.
Wies, B., Landers, C., & Ienca, M. (2021). Digital Mental Health for Young People: A Scoping Review of Ethical Promises and Challenges. Front Digit Health, 3(1), 1-11. https://doi:10.3389/fdgth.2021.697072.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Larissa Elisa Filipak, Marília Daniella Machado Araújo, Daniela Viganó Zanoti-Jeronymo, Kátia Pereira de Borba, Tatiana da Silva Melo Malaquias, Nathany Cristina Gardasz Petriu, Maria Eduarda Locatelle, Luiza Santiago
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors publishing in this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the article simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License that allows sharing of the work with acknowledgement of authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted to enter into additional contracts separately for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the article published in this journal (e.g., publish in an institutional repository or as a book chapter), with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors have permission and are encouraged to publish and distribute their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their personal webpage) at any point before or during the editorial process, as this may generate productive changes, as well as increase the impact and citation of the published work.