What digital health technology types are used in mental health prevention and intervention? Review of systematic reviews for systematization of technologies

Abstract

Digital health technology has been widely applied to mental health interventions worldwide. Using digital phenotyping to identify an individual's mental health status has become particularly important. However, many technologies other than digital phenotyping are expected to become more prevalent in the future. The systematization of these technologies is necessary to accurately identify trends in mental health interventions. However, no consensus on the technical classification of digital health technologies for mental health interventions has emerged. Thus, we conducted a review of systematic review articles on the application of digital health technologies in mental health while attempting to systematize the technology using the Delphi method. To identify technologies used in digital phenotyping and other digital technologies, we included four systematic review articles, which met the inclusion criteria, and an additional eight review articles, using a snowballing approach, were incorporated into the comprehensive review. Based on the review results, experts from various disciplines participated in the Delphi process and agreed on the following 11 technical categories for mental health interventions: heart rate estimation, exercise or physical activity, sleep estimation, contactless heart rate/pulse wave estimation, voice and emotion analysis, self-care/cognitive behavioral therapy/mindfulness, dietary management, psychological safety, communication robots, avatar/metaverse devices, and brain wave devices. The categories we defined intentionally included technologies that are expected to become widely used in the future. Therefore, we believe these 11 classifications are socially implementable and useful for mental health interventions.

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“…It is first necessary to understand the current classification of DHTs to consider potential health issues that may arise from the future prevalence of DHTs. We have, therefore, defined the utilization scenarios for DHTs in Japan 12) and classified 11 technology areas utilized in mental health interventions, including heart rate estimation, exercise/physical activity, sleep estimation, contactless heart rate/pulse wave estimation, voice and emotion analysis, self-care/cognitive behavioral therapy/ mindfulness, dietary management, psychological safety, communication robots, avatar/metaverse, and brain wave devices 13) . Then, we focused on a specialized scientific database dedicated to technical fields: the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) databases in electrical and electronics engineering and computer science.…”