The DOI matches its Crossref record; 40 of the 41 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Digital technology for management of severe mental disorders in low-income and middle-income countries
Open accessAbstract
Purpose of review: Increasingly, digital technologies, especially mobile telecommunications and smartphone apps, are seen as a novel tool for managing severe mental disorders (SMDs) in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, there is a need to identify best practices in the use of digital technologies to effectively reach, support, and manage care for patients living with SMDs. In this review, we summarize recent studies using digital technology to manage symptoms and support clinical care for this patient population and discuss new opportunities to advance digital psychiatry research and practice in LMICs. Recent findings: Studies evaluating digital interventions for clinical populations living with SMDs in LMICs are limited. Yet, across recent articles surveyed, digital technology appears to yield diverse benefits for this at-risk patient population. These benefits include improved medication adherence, appointment adherence, reduced instances of relapse, and fewer re-hospitalizations. Summary: Continued rigorous research evaluating effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of digital technologies in reaching, treating, and managing symptoms and supporting clinical care for patients with SMDs in LMICs is vital. The urgency for remote approaches for delivering specialized psychiatric care is particularly pronounced because of the immediate and long-term impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on access to in-person services. Future research should emphasize participatory approaches rooted in a process of codesign with target users, in order to achieve clinically effective remotely delivered digital mental health interventions.
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“Concerns about loss or damage of devices and lack of network connection are challenges frequently documented in other LMIC studies (Bhardwaj et al., 2020; Merchant et al., 2020).”
From Mobile technology and task shifting to improve access to alcohol treatment services in Mozambique (2022) · cites this paper as Merchant et al., 2020
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Estimating the true global burden of mental illness
Vigo, D., Thornicroft, G., & Atun, R. (2016) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(15)00505-2 · Cited by 2,494 · cited 1×
“SMDs are also a leading contributor to the global burden of disease [6].”
BackgroundResources for mental health: scarcity, inequity, and inefficiency
Saxena, S., Thornicroft, G., Knapp, M., & Whiteford, H. (2007) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)61239-2 · Cited by 1,789 · cited 1×
“The ratio of mental health workers to the population is estimated to be nearly 200 times greater in high-income countries when compared to LMICs [4].”
BackgroundTwenge, J. M., Joiner, T. E., Rogers, M. L., & Martin, G. N. (2018) · Clinical Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/2167702617723376 · Cited by 1,705 · cited 1×
“More generally, there is mounting evidence instance, a nationally representative survey of American adolescents by Twenge et al. [39], found that adolescents who spent more time on new media (including social media and electronic devices such as smartphones) were more likely to report mental health…”
BackgroundThe association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use
Orben, A., & Przybylski, A. K. (2019) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-018-0506-1 · Cited by 1,500
Patients with mental health disorders in the COVID-19 epidemic
Yao, H., Chen, J.-H., & Xu, Y.-F. (2020) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(20)30090-0 · Cited by 1,393 · cited 1×
“Individuals living with SMDs may need to attend regular outpatient visits for evaluations and prescriptions [33].”
BackgroundPoverty and common mental disorders in low and middle income countries: A systematic review
Lund, C., Breen, A., Flisher, A. J., Kakuma, R., Corrigall, J., Joska, J. A., Swartz, L., & Patel, V. (2010) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.04.027 · Cited by 1,375 · cited 1×
“Their health systems are frequently fragmented by geography, undermined by inadequate legislation, and higher rates of poverty adversely impact individuals’ mental health [2,3].”
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“SMDs are also a worldwide and those living with the disorder die on average 15 years earlier than those without [7,8].”
BackgroundProgression of Mental Health Services during the COVID-19 Outbreak in China
Li, W., Yang, Y., Liu, Z.-H., Zhao, Y.-J., Zhang, Q., Zhang, L., Cheung, T., & Xiang, Y.-T. (2020) · International Journal of Biological Sciences · doi:10.7150/ijbs.45120 · Cited by 1,213
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 41 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Fang, 2011, Effects of daily short message reminder for preventing schizophrenia recrudescence, Nurs J Chin PLA, 7, 74
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Torous, J., Bucci, S., Bell, I. H., Kessing, L. V., Faurholt‐Jepsen, M., Whelan, P., Carvalho, A. F., Keshavan, M., Linardon, J., & Firth, J. (2021) · World Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/wps.20883 · Cited by 1,199
Self-citationCOVID-19 Mobile Apps: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Kondylakis, H., Katehakis, D. G., Kouroubali, A., Logothetidis, F., Triantafyllidis, A. K., Kalamaras, I., Votis, K., & Tzovaras, D. K. (2020) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/23170 · Cited by 221
“…technology surveys [10,11], they focus on specific topics such as contact tracing [12,13]; specialized health sectors like pediatric health care delivery [14], mental health [15], epilepsy [16], and palliative care [17]; or countries like India [14], China [18], and the United Kingdom [19].”
BackgroundZangani, C., Ostinelli, E. G., Smith, K., Hong, J. S. W., Macdonald, O., Reen, G., Reid, K., Vincent, C. A., Sheriff, R. S., Harrison, P. J., et al. (2022) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/38600 · Cited by 178
“TMH provision has great potential in low-and middle-income countries due to large geographical distances and limited availability of mental health services to cover the population needs [85], combined with reduced health system capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic [86].”
BackgroundCarter, H., Araya, R., Anjur, K. I., Deng, D., & Naslund, J. A. (2020) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.12.016 · Cited by 164
“Future endeavours should step beyond a focus on common mental disorders, to include studies of varied groups and disorders to reflect the mental health needs and care disparities across low-income settings (Merchant et al., 2020).”
BackgroundSelf-citationMuke, S. S., Tugnawat, D. K., Joshi, U., Anand, A., Khan, A., Shrivastava, R., Singh, A., Restivo, J. L., Bhan, A., Patel, V., et al. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17176368 · Cited by 103
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Metadata
- Authors
- Merchant, R., Torous, J., Rodriguez-Villa, E., & Naslund, J. A.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Naslund, John A.
- Venue
- Current Opinion in Psychiatry
- Published
- 2020-06-09
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 501-507
- ISSN
- 0951-7367 (ISSN-L)
- 1473-6578
- PMC
- PMC7398830
- OpenAlex
- W3033971361
- Cited by
- 70
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 7
- FWCI
- 1.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Current Opinion in Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (215843/Z/19/Z, WT215843/Z/19/Z)
- National Institutes of Health (5u19mh113211-05)
- National Institute of Mental Health (U19 MH-113211, K23MH116130)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Keywords
- severe mental illness, digital mental health interventions, mobile health, mobile application, low- and middle-income countries, medication adherence, relapse prevention, hospital readmission, remote psychiatric care, COVID-19 pandemic, participatory design, co-design, cost-effectiveness
- MeSH terms
- Betacoronavirus, Internet-Based Intervention, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Mental Disorders, Developing Countries, Humans, Pneumonia, Viral, Socioeconomic Factors, Telemedicine, Coronavirus Infections, Pandemics
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