Adolescents' and youths' perceived barriers and facilitators to engaging with digital mental health interventions for depression and anxiety: A scoping review

IF 4.1 2区医学 Q1 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES

Internet Interventions-The Application of Information Technology in Mental and Behavioural Health Pub Date : 2025-10-21 DOI:10.1016/j.invent.2025.100884

Vajisha Udayangi Wanniarachchi , Chris Greenhalgh , Jim Warren

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) can be effective for adolescents and young people experiencing depression and anxiety. However, maintaining engagement remains a persistent challenge. While internal factors such as interface design, interactivity and personalisation have been widely examined, less is known about how young people themselves perceive barriers and facilitators to engaging with these tools. This scoping review explores adolescents' and young people's perceived experiences of engagement with DMHIs. A systematic search in PubMed, Scopus and PsycInfo identified 37 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Analysis revealed a broad range of perceived facilitators, including accessibility, perceived usefulness, opportunities for social connection and supportive human involvement. Commonly reported barriers included stigma, privacy concerns, low motivation, lack of personalisation, technical difficulties and limited trust in the interventions. Notably, most studies reported these perceptions qualitatively, with limited systematic assessment of their impact on engagement. This highlights a gap in the evidence base and underscores the need for future research to quantify how perceived barriers and facilitators shape engagement and adherence. Addressing barriers while building on facilitators may enhance sustained engagement and improve the real-world effectiveness of DMHIs for adolescent mental health.

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青少年和青年参与抑郁症和焦虑症数字心理健康干预的感知障碍和促进因素：范围审查

数字心理健康干预措施（DMHIs）对经历抑郁和焦虑的青少年和年轻人可能有效。然而，保持用户粘性仍然是一个持续的挑战。虽然界面设计、交互性和个性化等内部因素已经得到了广泛的研究，但对于年轻人自己如何看待使用这些工具的障碍和促进因素，人们知之甚少。本综述探讨了青少年和年轻人参与DMHIs的感知体验。在PubMed、Scopus和PsycInfo中进行了系统搜索，确定了37项符合纳入标准的研究。分析揭示了广泛的感知促进因素，包括可及性、感知有用性、社会联系机会和支持性的人类参与。通常报告的障碍包括耻辱、隐私问题、动机低、缺乏个性化、技术困难和对干预措施的信任有限。值得注意的是，大多数研究定性地报告了这些看法，对其对敬业度的影响进行了有限的系统评估。这突出了证据基础上的差距，并强调了未来研究的必要性，以量化感知到的障碍和促进因素如何影响参与和坚持。在建立促进者的基础上解决障碍，可以加强持续参与，提高DMHIs在青少年心理健康方面的实际有效性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Internet Interventions-The Application of Information Technology in Mental and Behavioural Health Medicine-Health Informatics

CiteScore

6.50

自引率

9.30%

发文量

审稿时长

6 weeks

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