Design and evaluation guidelines for mental health technologies

Abstract

a b s t r a c tIt is increasingly recognised that technology has the potential to significantly improve access, engagement, effectiveness and affordability of treatment for mental health problems. The development of such technology has recently become the subject of Human-Computer Interaction research. As an emerging area with a unique set of constraints and design concerns, there is a need to establish guidelines which encapsulate the knowledge gained from existing development projects. We present an initial set of design guidelines extracted from the literature and from a series of development projects for software to support mental health interventions. The first group of guidelines pertain to the design process itself, addressing the limitations in access to clients in mental healthcare settings, and strategies for collaborative design with therapists. The second group considers major design factors in the development of these technologies, including therapeutic models, client factors, and privacy. The third group concerns conduct of the evaluation process, and the constraints on evaluating mental healthcare technologies. We motivate and explain these guidelines with reference to concrete design projects and problems.

mHealth for Maternal Mental Health

“…Sharing responsibility and ideas during the process of design is considered to lead to more positive outcomes [72]. User-centred design sessions are particularly important in a mental health context, given the sensitive nature of these applications and studies recommend designers collaborate with mental health professionals as well as clients early in the design process for mHealth apps [22], with a particular focus on how to encourage and maintain engagement [21]. Both individual and general 'client factors' contribute most to successful mHealth interventions [22].…”

“…User-centred design sessions are particularly important in a mental health context, given the sensitive nature of these applications and studies recommend designers collaborate with mental health professionals as well as clients early in the design process for mHealth apps [22], with a particular focus on how to encourage and maintain engagement [21]. Both individual and general 'client factors' contribute most to successful mHealth interventions [22]. But design for wellbeing should also consider the client's 'indirect' needs, such as what or when they might need the technology to communicate to others (e.g.…”

“…The growth in use and sophistication of mobile health (mHealth) apps for mental health presents particular opportunities and challenges for design [22,83]. Applications for mHealth for psychological wellbeing have complex design requirements, involving sensitive information and client/therapy conditions [22] and there are practical difficulties in understanding users' experience of such technologies early in the design process [ibid]. Indeed we still know relatively little about how such mHealth technologies are actually experienced and engaged with by clients outside the clinical context [81].…”

“…In addition, smartphones and tablets can support the implementation of data collection techniques, such as the on-going and remote monitoring of mood and other symptoms [58]. Self-report data, which is a valuable component in psychological therapy and treatment offline, is a central feature of mHealth application design [22].…”

Interaction design and emotional wellbeing

“…Theoretical frameworks and guidelines: Doherty et al [8] have provided initial guidelines for the design of mental health technologies, but also highlight the need for further exploration and integration of the diverse theoretical frameworks in this area. This workshop will provide a forum for such a discussion.…”