TY - JOUR
T1 - Digital Mental Health for Schizophrenia and Other Severe Mental Illnesses
T2 - An International Consensus on Current Challenges and Potential Solutions
AU - Smith, Katharine A.
AU - Hardy, Amy
AU - Vinnikova, Anastasia
AU - Blease, Charlotte
AU - Milligan, Lea
AU - Hidalgo-Mazzei, Diego
AU - Lambe, Sinéad
AU - Marzano, Lisa
AU - Uhlhaas, Peter J.
AU - Ostinelli, Edoardo G.
AU - Anmella, Gerard
AU - Zangani, Caroline
AU - Aronica, Rosario
AU - Dwyer, Bridget
AU - Torous, John
AU - Cipriani, Andrea
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©Katharine A Smith, Amy Hardy, Anastasia Vinnikova, Charlotte Blease, Lea Milligan, Diego Hidalgo-Mazzei, Sinéad Lambe, Lisa Marzano, Peter J Uhlhaas, Edoardo G Ostinelli, Gerard Anmella, Caroline Zangani, Rosario Aronica, Bridget Dwyer, John Torous, Andrea Cipriani.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Background: Digital approaches may be helpful in augmenting care to address unmet mental health needs, particularly for schizophrenia and severe mental illness (SMI). Objective: An international multidisciplinary group was convened to reach a consensus on the challenges and potential solutions regarding collecting data, delivering treatment, and the ethical challenges in digital mental health approaches for schizophrenia and SMI. Methods: The consensus development panel method was used, with an in-person meeting of 2 groups: the expert group and the panel. Membership was multidisciplinary including those with lived experience, with equal participation at all stages and coproduction of the consensus outputs and summary. Relevant literature was shared in advance of the meeting, and a systematic search of the recent literature on digital mental health interventions for schizophrenia and psychosis was completed to ensure that the panel was informed before the meeting with the expert group. Results: Four broad areas of challenge and proposed solutions were identified: (1) user involvement for real coproduction; (2) new approaches to methodology in digital mental health, including agreed standards, data sharing, measuring harms, prevention strategies, and mechanistic research; (3) regulation and funding issues; and (4) implementation in real-world settings (including multidisciplinary collaboration, training, augmenting existing service provision, and social and population-focused approaches). Examples are provided with more detail on human-centered research design, lived experience perspectives, and biomedical ethics in digital mental health approaches for SMI. Conclusions: The group agreed by consensus on a number of recommendations: (1) a new and improved approach to digital mental health research (with agreed reporting standards, data sharing, and shared protocols), (2) equal emphasis on social and population research as well as biological and psychological approaches, (3) meaningful collaborations across varied disciplines that have previously not worked closely together, (4) increased focus on the business model and product with planning and new funding structures across the whole development pathway, (5) increased focus and reporting on ethical issues and potential harms, and (6) organizational changes to allow for true communication and coproduction with those with lived experience of SMI. This study approach, combining an international expert meeting with patient and public involvement and engagement throughout the process, consensus methodology, discussion, and publication, is a helpful way to identify directions for future research and clinical implementation in rapidly evolving areas and can be combined with measurements of real-world clinical impact over time. Similar initiatives will be helpful in other areas of digital mental health and similarly fast-evolving fields to focus research and organizational change and effect improved real-world clinical implementation.
AB - Background: Digital approaches may be helpful in augmenting care to address unmet mental health needs, particularly for schizophrenia and severe mental illness (SMI). Objective: An international multidisciplinary group was convened to reach a consensus on the challenges and potential solutions regarding collecting data, delivering treatment, and the ethical challenges in digital mental health approaches for schizophrenia and SMI. Methods: The consensus development panel method was used, with an in-person meeting of 2 groups: the expert group and the panel. Membership was multidisciplinary including those with lived experience, with equal participation at all stages and coproduction of the consensus outputs and summary. Relevant literature was shared in advance of the meeting, and a systematic search of the recent literature on digital mental health interventions for schizophrenia and psychosis was completed to ensure that the panel was informed before the meeting with the expert group. Results: Four broad areas of challenge and proposed solutions were identified: (1) user involvement for real coproduction; (2) new approaches to methodology in digital mental health, including agreed standards, data sharing, measuring harms, prevention strategies, and mechanistic research; (3) regulation and funding issues; and (4) implementation in real-world settings (including multidisciplinary collaboration, training, augmenting existing service provision, and social and population-focused approaches). Examples are provided with more detail on human-centered research design, lived experience perspectives, and biomedical ethics in digital mental health approaches for SMI. Conclusions: The group agreed by consensus on a number of recommendations: (1) a new and improved approach to digital mental health research (with agreed reporting standards, data sharing, and shared protocols), (2) equal emphasis on social and population research as well as biological and psychological approaches, (3) meaningful collaborations across varied disciplines that have previously not worked closely together, (4) increased focus on the business model and product with planning and new funding structures across the whole development pathway, (5) increased focus and reporting on ethical issues and potential harms, and (6) organizational changes to allow for true communication and coproduction with those with lived experience of SMI. This study approach, combining an international expert meeting with patient and public involvement and engagement throughout the process, consensus methodology, discussion, and publication, is a helpful way to identify directions for future research and clinical implementation in rapidly evolving areas and can be combined with measurements of real-world clinical impact over time. Similar initiatives will be helpful in other areas of digital mental health and similarly fast-evolving fields to focus research and organizational change and effect improved real-world clinical implementation.
KW - consensus
KW - digital
KW - ethics
KW - lived experience
KW - mental health
KW - mobile phone
KW - patient and public involvement
KW - severe mental illness
KW - user-centered design
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85194108237&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2196/57155
DO - 10.2196/57155
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85194108237
SN - 2368-7959
VL - 11
JO - JMIR Mental Health
JF - JMIR Mental Health
M1 - e57155
ER -