SEARCHSYSTEMATIC_REVIEWpsychiatry, pediatrics

systematic_review·psychiatry, pediatrics, public health, systematic review, epidemiology·PMC10548333

The Use of Mobile Assessments for Monitoring Mental Health in Youth: Umbrella Review

Journal of Medical Internet Research · 6 authors, 5 centres

AI SUMMARY

FIDELITY 100%

This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.

AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

TRACE TO SOURCE

“

TL;DR

This umbrella review of 30 existing reviews found that mobile tools like ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) and passive digital phenotyping are promising for monitoring youth mental health but face limitations in reliability and theoretical grounding.

Full summary

635 CHARS

The umbrella review synthesized 30 published reviews (21 systematic, 9 narrative) on the use of mobile assessments for mental health in youth, including children, adolescents, and young adults. The reviews covered conditions like depression, bipolar and psychotic disorders, and general well-being. Key limitations include the need for robust theoretical frameworks, issues with data reliability, and the challenge of assessing intervention effectiveness. The authors conclude that these tools hold promise for future research and clinical practice, particularly in low- and middle-income countries and for integrating multimodal data.

STUDY TYPE

systematic_review

SPECIALTY

psychiatry

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10548333

The Use of Mobile Assessments for Monitoring Mental Health in Youth: Umbrella Review

Journal of Medical Internet Research

READ THE FULL PAPER

ABSTRACT

Background Improving mental health in youth is a major concern. Future approaches to monitor and intervene in youth mental health problems should rely on mobile tools that allow for the daily monitoring of mental health both actively (eg, using ecological momentary assessments [EMAs]) and passively (eg, digital phenotyping) by capturing individuals’ data. Objective This umbrella review aims to (1) report the main characteristics of existing reviews on mental health and young people, including mobile approaches to mental health; (2) describe EMAs and trace data and the mental health conditions investigated; (3) report the main results; and (4) outline promises, limitations, and directions for future research. Methods A systematic literature search was carried out in 9 scientific databases (Communication & Mass Media Complete, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, the ProQuest Sociology Database, Web of Science, and PubMed) on January 30, 2022, coupled with a hand search and updated in July 2022. We included (systematic) reviews of EMAs and trace data in the context of mental health, with a specific focus on young populations, including children, adolescents, and young adults. The quality of the included reviews was evaluated using the AMSTAR (Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews) checklist. Results After the screening process, 30 reviews (published between 2016 and 2022) were included in this umbrella review, of which 21 (70%) were systematic reviews and 9 (30%) were narrative reviews. The included systematic reviews focused on symptoms of depression (5/21, 24%); bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, or psychosis (6/21, 29%); general ill-being (5/21, 24%); cognitive abilities (2/21, 9.5%); well-being (1/21, 5%); personality (1/21, 5%); and suicidal thoughts (1/21, 5%). Of the 21 systematic reviews, 15 (71%) summarized studies that used mobile apps for tracing, 2 (10%) summarized studies that used them for intervention, and 4 (19%) summarized studies that used them for both intervention and tracing. Mobile tools used in the systematic reviews were smartphones only (8/21, 38%), smartphones and wearable devices (6/21, 29%), and smartphones with other tools (7/21, 33%). In total, 29% (6/21) of the systematic reviews focused on EMAs, including ecological momentary interventions; 33% (7/21) focused on trace data; and 38% (8/21) focused on both. Narrative reviews mainly focused on the discussion of issues related to digital phenotyping, existing theoretical frameworks used, new opportunities, and practical examples. Conclusions EMAs and trace data in the context of mental health assessments and interventions are promising tools. Opportunities (eg, using mobile approaches in low- and middle-income countries, integration of multimodal data, and improving self-efficacy and self-awareness on mental health) and limitations (eg, absence of theoretical frameworks, difficulty in assessing the reliability and effectiveness of such approaches, and need to appropriately assess the quality of the studies) were further discussed. Trial Registration PROSPERO CRD42022347717; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=347717

CITATION EXPORT

Laura Marciano, Emanuela Vocaj, Mesfin A Bekalu et al.. The Use of Mobile Assessments for Monitoring Mental Health in Youth: Umbrella Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research. (2023). https://doi.org/10.2196/45540

AUTHORS

6 · 5 CENTRES

Laura Marciano, Emanuela Vocaj, Mesfin A Bekalu, Antonino La Tona, Giulia Rocchi, Kasisomayajula Viswanath

1 Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA United States
2 Dana Farber Cancer Institute Boston, MA United States
3 Lombard School of Cognitive-Neuropsychological Psychotherapy Pavia Italy
4 Dipartimento di Scienze Umane e Sociali Università degli Studi di Bergamo Bergamo Italy
5 Department of Dynamic, Clinical Psychology and Health Studies, Sapienza University Rome Italy

EDITOR / REVIEWER

Tiffany Leung, Taiane de Azevedo Cardoso, Joanne Beames, Maria Bulgheroni