JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Mental health care provision in the UK is overwhelmed, with high demand for services. There are also high rates of under-, over-, and misdiagnosis of common mental health disorders in primary care and delays to accessing secondary care. This negatively impacts on patient functioning and outcomes. Digital tools may offer a time-efficient avenue for remote assessment and triage of mental health disorders which can be integrated directly into existing care pathways to support clinicians. However, despite the potential of digital tools for mental health there remain gaps in our understanding of how the intended userbase, people with lived experienced of mental health concerns, perceive these technologies.

Objective:

To explore the perspectives and attitudes of individuals with lived experience of mental health concerns on mental health apps that are designed to support self-assessment and triage.

Methods:

A semi-structured interview approach was employed, exploring perspectives of interviewees using five open-ended questions. Interviews were transcribed verbatim from audio data recordings. The average interview lasted 46 minutes (rounded to the nearest minute; SD=12.93 minutes). Thematic analysis (TA) was conducted.

Results:

A total of 16 individuals were interviewed in the current study. The average age was 42.25 (SD=15.18), half the interviewees were female (50%, n=8), and all were white (100%, n=16). TA revealed six major themes: (1) availability and accessibility, (2) quality, (3) attitudes, (4) safety, (5) impact and (6) functionality.

Conclusions:

Engaging in clear communication regarding data security and privacy policies, adopting a consent-driven approach to data sharing, and identifying gaps in the app marketplace to foster inclusion of a range of mental health conditions and avoid oversaturation of apps for common mental health disorders (eg, depression and anxiety) were identified as priorities from interviewee comments. Additionally, reputation was identified as a driver to uptake and engagement, with endorsement from a respected source (ie, health care provider, academic institution) or direct recommendation from a trusted health care professional associated with increased interest and trust. Furthermore, there was interest in the role apps could play in existing care pathways, particularly in terms of utilizing a results report from a digital self-assessment in facilitating informed discussions with health care professionals during appointments, and by signposting individuals to the most appropriate services. Additionally, interviewees discussed the potential for mental health apps to provide waiting list support to individuals awaiting treatment by providing personalized psychoeducation, self-help tips, and sources of help to support self-care and management.