JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Older adults with mental illness face specific physical and psychosocial challenges and inequities, reflected in limited access to advanced technology. This digital divide is alarming as mental health interventions increasingly depend on both patients’ and clinicians’ access to technology. Yet, digitalized treatments also present opportunities to enhance accessibility, effectiveness, and equity across age groups.

Objective:

This scoping review charts the state of research into digitalized treatment options for older people with mental illness. We focus specifically on how technology is integrated into existing or leveraged to create new non-pharmacological mental health interventions. We also summarize the state of the art on the feasibility and effectiveness of these interventions for various mental illnesses.

Methods:

The review was conducted in compliance with the PRISMA guidelines for systematic scoping reviews. A PubMed search conducted in April 2024 identified 51 studies (n = 14,918 participants, aged 50-97 years). Included studies were original studies or their reviews, looking into non-pharmacological treatments for older adults with a psychiatric diagnosis using any kind of technology.

Results:

The technologies examined ranged from web-based psychotherapy platforms and digital devices for daily challenges to robots for social interaction. Few studies examined newest advances in digital mental health, such as artificial intelligence or virtual reality. Most studies evaluated dementia-related interventions, with small, non-randomized samples in uncontrolled designs.

Conclusions:

The current state of the field, despite the promises of technology to reduce inequities between age groups, still largely excludes older adults from research into technological advances in mental health and their benefits. The field needs to overcome this selective bias and fight the digital ‘grey’ divide in mental health.