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Use of Digital Mental Health for Marginalized and Underserved Populations

  • Technology and its Impact on Mental Health Care (J Torous and T Becker, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of review

Digital mental health (DMH) interventions provide opportunities to alleviate mental health disparities among marginalized populations by overcoming traditional barriers to care and putting quality mental health services in the palm of one’s hand. While progress has been made towards realizing this goal, the potential for impactful change has yet to be realized. This paper reviews current examples of DMH interventions for certain marginalized and underserved groups, namely, ethnic and racial minorities including Latinx and African-Americans, rural populations, individuals experiencing homelessness, and sexual and gender minorities.

Recent findings

Strengths and opportunities, along with the needs and considerations, of each group are discussed as they pertain to the development and dissemination of DMH interventions. Our review focuses on several DMH interventions that have been specifically designed for marginalized populations with a culturally sensitive approach along with other existing interventions that have been tailored to fit the needs of the target population. Overall, evidence is beginning to show promise for the feasibility and acceptability of DMH inter ventions for these groups, but large-scale efficacy testing and scaling potential are still lacking.

Summary

These examples of how DMH can potentially positively impact marginalized populations should motivate developers, researchers, and practitioners to work collaboratively with stakeholders to deliver DMH interventions to these underserved populations in need.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Science, School of Social Ecology, 4304 Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Irvine, CA, 92697-7085, USA

    Stephen M. Schueller PhD & John F. Hunter PhD

  2. School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Caroline Figueroa MD, PhD & Adrian Aguilera PhD

  3. UCSF, Department of Psychiatry, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Adrian Aguilera PhD

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  1. Stephen M. Schueller PhD
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Correspondence to Stephen M. Schueller PhD.

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Stephen M. Schueller declares that he has no conflict of interest. John F. Hunter declares that he has no conflict of interest. Caroline Figueroa declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Adrian Aguilera reports personal fees from Care Message.

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Schueller, S.M., Hunter, J.F., Figueroa, C. et al. Use of Digital Mental Health for Marginalized and Underserved Populations. Curr Treat Options Psych 6, 243–255 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40501-019-00181-z

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