Literature Review of the Usefulness of Smartphone for the Evaluation and Treatment of Mental Disorders

Abstract

The drastic increase in mental illnesses is a global problem. Prompt improvement of symptoms through early intervention, analysis of drug efficacy, and evaluation of treatment compliance are key strategies to address this issue. However, the traditional diagnostic and therapeutic methods for mental illnesses entail assessments based on interviews or questionnaires, which require a lot of time and money. The widespread use of smartphones and their applications in recent years has made it easier to assess mental illnesses and access to treatment. However, the reliability and validity of use of smartphone applications as an assessment tool for mental illnesses has been questioned since these applications are largely based on the existing questionnaire assessment methods. To overcome these problems, use of biosensor-based smartphone applications for the diagnosis and assessment of mental illnesses is being studied. This study will introduce the current status of this approach and discuss the future prospects.