JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Digital mental health technologies (DMHTs) are becoming more widely available and are seen as having potential to improve the quality of mental health care. However, conversations around the potential impact of DMHTs can be impacted by a lack of focus on the types of technologies that are available. Several frameworks that could apply to DMHTs are available but they have not been developed with comprehensive methods and have limitations.

Objective:

To address limitations with current frameworks, we aimed to identify existing literature on categorisation of DMHTs, to explore challenges with categorising DMHTs for specific purposes, and to develop a new conceptual framework.

Methods:

We used an iterative approach to develop the framework. First, we completed a rapid review of literature to identify studies which provided domains that could be used to categorise DMHTs. Second, findings from this review and associated issues were discussed by an expert working group, including professionals from a wide range of relevant settings. Third, we synthesised findings to develop a new conceptual framework.

Results:

The rapid review identified 24 studies which provided 10 domains to categorise DMHTs. The expert working group proposed a broad framework and based on the findings of the review and group discussions, we developed a new conceptual framework with eight domains that represent important characteristics of DMHTs. These eight domains are: population, setting, platform/system, purpose, type of approach, human interaction, human responsiveness, functionality.

Conclusions:

This conceptual framework provides a structure for varying stakeholder to define the key characteristics of DMHTs. It has been developed with more comprehensive methods than previous attempts with similar aims. The framework can facilitate communication within the field and could be undergo further iteration to ensure it is appropriate for specific purposes.