Nickolai Titov , Blake F. Dear , Lauren Staples , Alana Fisher , Heather D. Hadjistavropoulos , Olav Nielssen
{"title":"Key questions to ask before implementing a Digital Mental Health Service (DMHS): A primer for policy makers","authors":"Nickolai Titov , Blake F. Dear , Lauren Staples , Alana Fisher , Heather D. Hadjistavropoulos , Olav Nielssen","doi":"10.1016/j.invent.2025.100857","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The proven success of treating high prevalence mental disorders via the internet by digital mental health services (DMHSs) has created enormous interest in the implementation of these services. In response, there are now excellent guides to support the “how” of DMHS implementation.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>Drawing on the authors' experiences of successfully implementing high volume DMHSs and reflecting on planning sessions with decision makers and funders, the authors identified important questions that should be considered by policy makers, funders and healthcare managers before implementing a DMHS. These questions are more concerned with the “why” of implementation and are questions not typically examined or discussed in existing implementation guides and frameworks.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The authors describe eleven questions categorised by theme: 1. The nature of mental health and treatments, 2. The nature of DMHSs, and 3. Governance and eco-system. Questions include which mental health conditions to address, whether the condition even requires treatment, what type of services should be offered, where would the DMHS fit into the broader mental health system, how will they integrate with other health services, what is the optimal funding model, how will they employ technology, and what governance is required.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Policy makers and funders have the challenging task of determining resource allocation among competing priorities in a complex and ever-changing world. We propose that navigating the complexities of DMHSs can be facilitated by developing a robust program logic that addresses these and other important questions. It is noted that the long-term success DMHSs requires not only a clear vision and careful planning, but realistic and stable funding, and a commitment to ongoing evaluation and development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48615,"journal":{"name":"Internet Interventions-The Application of Information Technology in Mental and Behavioural Health","volume":"41 ","pages":"Article 100857"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Internet Interventions-The Application of Information Technology in Mental and Behavioural Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782925000582","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
The proven success of treating high prevalence mental disorders via the internet by digital mental health services (DMHSs) has created enormous interest in the implementation of these services. In response, there are now excellent guides to support the “how” of DMHS implementation.
Method
Drawing on the authors' experiences of successfully implementing high volume DMHSs and reflecting on planning sessions with decision makers and funders, the authors identified important questions that should be considered by policy makers, funders and healthcare managers before implementing a DMHS. These questions are more concerned with the “why” of implementation and are questions not typically examined or discussed in existing implementation guides and frameworks.
Results
The authors describe eleven questions categorised by theme: 1. The nature of mental health and treatments, 2. The nature of DMHSs, and 3. Governance and eco-system. Questions include which mental health conditions to address, whether the condition even requires treatment, what type of services should be offered, where would the DMHS fit into the broader mental health system, how will they integrate with other health services, what is the optimal funding model, how will they employ technology, and what governance is required.
Conclusions
Policy makers and funders have the challenging task of determining resource allocation among competing priorities in a complex and ever-changing world. We propose that navigating the complexities of DMHSs can be facilitated by developing a robust program logic that addresses these and other important questions. It is noted that the long-term success DMHSs requires not only a clear vision and careful planning, but realistic and stable funding, and a commitment to ongoing evaluation and development.
期刊介绍:
Official Journal of the European Society for Research on Internet Interventions (ESRII) and the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions (ISRII).
The aim of Internet Interventions is to publish scientific, peer-reviewed, high-impact research on Internet interventions and related areas.
Internet Interventions welcomes papers on the following subjects:
• Intervention studies targeting the promotion of mental health and featuring the Internet and/or technologies using the Internet as an underlying technology, e.g. computers, smartphone devices, tablets, sensors
• Implementation and dissemination of Internet interventions
• Integration of Internet interventions into existing systems of care
• Descriptions of development and deployment infrastructures
• Internet intervention methodology and theory papers
• Internet-based epidemiology
• Descriptions of new Internet-based technologies and experiments with clinical applications
• Economics of internet interventions (cost-effectiveness)
• Health care policy and Internet interventions
• The role of culture in Internet intervention
• Internet psychometrics
• Ethical issues pertaining to Internet interventions and measurements
• Human-computer interaction and usability research with clinical implications
• Systematic reviews and meta-analysis on Internet interventions