Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Sep 29, 2022
Date Accepted: Mar 8, 2023
Attitudes of children, adolescents, and their parents toward digital health interventions: a scoping review
ABSTRACT
Background:
The prevalence of mental health problems in children and adolescents is high. As these problems can impact this population’s developmental trajectories, they constitute a public health concern. This situation is accentuated by the fact that children and adolescents infrequently seek help. Digital health interventions (DHI) offer an opportunity to bridge the treatment gap between healthcare needs and patient engagement in care. Additional detailed research is needed to identify how children and adolescents can be empowered to access help through DHI. In this context, an understanding of their attitudes to digital health would appear to be a necessary first step in facilitating the effective implementation of DHI.
Objective:
To establish an inventory of children’s, adolescents’, and their parents’ attitudes about DHI.
Methods:
A scoping review following PRISMA’s recommendations was performed using the MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO databases. The research was conducted using three key concepts: “child and adolescent mental health service users”, “digital health interventions” and “attitudes”. Data extracted included the name of the publishing journal, the methodology used, the target population, the DHI studied, and the principal results.
Results:
Of the 1 548 studies found, 30 (2%) were included in our analysis. Among these, 13 concerned satisfaction, 24 preferences, 22 the use of DHI, 11 perception, and 10 needs.
Conclusions:
The results of this study provide a better understanding of the factors influencing children and adolescents’ attitudes toward digital health and DHI. The continued growth of DHI can help to reduce barriers to mental health care. Future research on these interventions should investigate the needs of the populations targeted, in order to increase their engagement in care.
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