JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Many children with a mental health problem do not receive professional help. Despite frequent use of digital health interventions (DHI) such as websites or online service navigation platforms for child mental health, their effects on parent’s mental health knowledge, help-seeking or uptake of professional services for their child are unclear.

Methods:

Systematic review and narrative synthesis to describe whether DHIs improve the above parental outcomes and whether they are cost-effective. CINAHL, EMBASE, Medline OVID, PsycInfo and PubMed were searched from 2000-2020. Studies were included if they evaluated quantitative changes in mental health literacy, help-seeking or uptake of services by parents of children with a mental health problem. Data extraction: Theoretical framework, sample size, participant demographics, recruitment, intervention, DHI usage, results and health economic measures.

Results:

From 11,379 search results, five studies met inclusion criteria. One randomized controlled trial found reduced uptake of services after using a DHI coupled with a telephone coach for a child’s behavioral problem. Two of three studies found statistically significant improvement in mental health literacy for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder but had no control group. One study found non-significant improvement in mental health literacy and help-seeking attitudes for anxiety and depression compared to an active control. No studies reported on cost-effectiveness. All studies were rated at least high or serious risk of bias. Discussion: Despite their use, there is no high-quality evidence that DHIs can improve parents’ mental health literacy, help-seeking or uptake of services. Limitations include a single reviewer screening articles and overall low-quality studies. More research is needed to evaluate DHIs using rigorous study designs, consistent measures and cost analyses.