Arabic-language digital interventions for depression in German routine health care are acceptable, but intervention adoption remains a challenge

Abstract

Migrants face many barriers to mental health care, such as different cultural concepts of distress, unfamiliar pathways to care, and language. Digital mental health interventions are effective and scalable in multi-language versions. However, their implementation into routine care is in its infancy. Here, we report on the Arabic- and German-language implementation of two digital interventions in Germany: The iFightDepression® website, providing information about depression to the public, and the iFightDepression® tool, offering guided self-management for depression. Their acceptability (time on page, usage behavior) was comparable between the two user groups. The website penetration of the target populations was nine times lower among Arab migrants in Germany than Germans (89 vs. 834 unique page views/ 100,000). The adoption of the tool was lower among Arabic than German users (conversion rate from invitation to completed registration: 30.8% vs. 59.0%, p < .001). Our results show that uptake of digital interventions for migrants requires facilitation.