Recent Articles
With anxiety a growing issue and barriers to accessing support services, there is a need for innovative solutions to provide early intervention. In-the-moment interventions support individuals to recognize early signs of distress and use coping mechanisms to prevent or manage this distress. There is potential for wearable sensors linked to an individual’s mobile phone to provide in-the-moment support tailored to individual needs and physiological responses.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is giving rise to a revolution in medicine and health care. Mental health conditions are highly prevalent in many countries, and the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk of further erosion of the mental well-being in the population. Therefore, it is relevant to assess the current status of the application of AI toward mental health research to inform about trends, gaps, opportunities, and challenges.
The positive and negative effects of interacting with web-based content on mental health, and especially self-harm, are well documented. Lived experience stories are one such type of static web-based content, frequently published on health care or third-sector organization websites, as well as social media and blogs, as a form of support for those seeking help via the web.
In the United States, 1 out of every 3 people lives in a mental health professional shortage area. Shortage areas tend to be rural, have higher levels of poverty, and have poor mental health outcomes. Previous work has demonstrated that these poor outcomes may arise from interactions between a lack of resources and lack of recognition of mental illness by medical professionals.
Remote measurement technologies (RMTs) such as smartphones and wearables can help improve treatment for depression by providing objective, continuous, and ecologically valid insights into mood and behavior. Engagement with RMTs is varied and highly context dependent; however, few studies have investigated their feasibility in the context of treatment.
Major depressive episode (MDE) is a common clinical syndrome. It can be found in different pathologies such as major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or even occur in the context of psychological trauma. However, only 1 syndrome is described in international classifications (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition [DSM-5]/International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision [ICD-11]), which do not take into account the underlying pathology at the origin of the MDE. Clinical interviews are currently the best source of information to obtain the etiological diagnosis of MDE. Nevertheless, it does not allow an early diagnosis and there are no objective measures of extracted clinical information. To remedy this, the use of digital tools and their correlation with clinical symptomatology could be useful.
Disturbed heart dynamics in depression seriously increases mortality risk. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a rich source of information for studying this dynamics. This paper is a meta-analytic review with methodological commentary of the application of nonlinear analysis of HRV and its possibility to address cardiovascular diseases in depression.
The National Center for PTSD, within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), has developed a suite of free, publicly available, evidence-informed apps that can reach an increasing number of veterans and bridge gaps in care by providing resources to those who are not engaged in mental health treatment. To expand the reach of these apps, staff across VA service lines learned about these apps, their features and limitations, and how to introduce them to veterans.
As the field of digital health grows and evolves, there is a critical need for evidence and theory-based interventions in health care. The need for integration of science into business is more critical than ever. To develop sustainable and scalable products, companies need scientists who understand the industry, can develop scientific strategy that aligns with business priorities, and are able to apply science cross-functionally. In this article, I share the insights I have gained about the roles and responsibilities of industry scientists and the lessons I have learned after spending 5 years as the head of science for a digital health start-up that turned unicorn.
There is a pressing need to create resources to promote mental health literacy among young people. Digital media is one of the methods that can be used to successfully promote mental health literacy. Although digital mental health resources are generally favorably perceived by young people, one of the essential factors in whether they choose to use these interventions is trust.
