Mental health apps helpful but poor design, privacy concerns contribute to low engagement

A clinical review, published in Evidence Based Mental Health Month, has suggested numerous issues contributing to the low engagement of mental health apps. The authors of the study wrote, "The potential of smartphone apps to improve quality and increase access to mental health care is increasingly clear, yet even in the current global mental health crisis, real-world uptake of smartphone apps by clinics or consumers remains low." The study has also noted that mental health services have been traditionally a struggle with engagement, but the current state of mental health apps are far worse with 74% of users stop using the app after only 10 uses. At this point, it is not about the role of technology in mental health and services, but rather where the important areas are and how to capture the essence in which technology can aid its users. There are many convincing theories and factors to the lack of mobile app successes, but there is yet to be a breakthrough in this industry.

 

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