Common Practices for Sociodemographic Data Reporting in Digital Mental Health Intervention Research: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: The ability for digital mental health interventions (DMHI) to reduce mental health disparities relies on recruitment of research participants with diverse sociodemographic and self-identity characteristics. Despite its importance, sociodemographic reporting in research is often limited, and the state of reporting practices in DMHI research in particular has not been comprehensively reviewed. Objectives: To characterize the state of sociodemographic data reported in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of app-based DMHIs published globally from 2007 to 2022. Methods: A scoping review of RCTs of app-based DMHIs examined reporting frequency for 16 sociodemographic domains (i.e., Gender) and common category options within each domain (i.e., woman). The search queried five electronic databases. 5079 records were screened and 299 articles were included. Results: On average, studies reported 4.64 (SD = 1.79; range 0 - 9) of 16 sociodemographic domains. The most common were Age (97%) and Education (67%). The least common were Housing Situation (6%), Residency/Location (5%), Veteran Status (4%), Number of Children (3%), Sexual Orientation (2%), Disability Status (2%), and Food Security (<1%). Gender or Sex was reported in 98% of studies: Gender only (51%), Sex only (28%), both (<1%), Gender/Sex reported but unspecified (18%). Race or Ethnicity was reported in 48% of studies: Race only (14%), Ethnicity only (14%), both (10%), Race/Ethnicity reported but unspecified (10%). Conclusions: This review describes widespread underreporting of sociodemographic information in RCTs of app-based DMHIs published from 2007 to 2022. Reporting was often incomplete (i.e., % female only), unclear (i.e., conflation of Gender/Sex), and limited (i.e., only options representing majority groups were reported). Trends suggest reporting somewhat improved in recent years. Diverse participant populations must be welcomed and described in DMHI research to broaden learnings and generalizability of results; a prerequisite of DMHIs potential to reduce disparities in mental healthcare.

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“…The full citation list of theoretically appropriate studies is to be uploaded to the JBI System for the Unifies Management of the Assessment and Review of Information (SUMARI). (Aranas et al, 2023;Kirvin-Quamme et al, 2024;Mergen et al, 2023). Two research associates will then independently undertake stage one of the screening process through the application of the inclusion criteria.…”