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Review
. 2023 Oct 25;12(21):6735.
doi: 10.3390/jcm12216735.

Mental Health for All: The Case for Investing in Digital Mental Health to Improve Global Outcomes, Access, and Innovation in Low-Resource Settings

Manuel Faria  1   2   3 , Stella Tan Pei Zin  3 , Roman Chestnov  3 , Anne Marie Novak  4 , Shahar Lev-Ari  1   4 , Michael Snyder  1
Affiliations
Review

Mental Health for All: The Case for Investing in Digital Mental Health to Improve Global Outcomes, Access, and Innovation in Low-Resource Settings

Manuel Faria et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Mental health disorders are an increasing global public health concern that contribute to morbidity, mortality, disability, and healthcare costs across the world. Biomedical and psychological research has come a long way in identifying the importance of mental health and its impact on behavioral risk factors, physiological health, and overall quality of life. Despite this, access to psychological and psychiatric services remains widely unavailable and is a challenge for many healthcare systems, particularly those in developing countries. This review article highlights the strengths and opportunities brought forward by digital mental health in narrowing this divide. Further, it points to the economic and societal benefits of effectively managing mental illness, making a case for investing resources into mental healthcare as a larger priority for large non-governmental organizations and individual nations across the globe.

Keywords: digital mental health; medical innovation; mental health intervention; mobile health; telemedicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

M.P.S. is a co-founder and/or scientific advisor of Personalis, SensOmics, January AI, QBio, RTHM, Iollo, Marble, Filtricine, and Mirvie. He is an advisor for Ganapsys, Jupiter, Neuvivo, Mitrix, and Swaza.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Value generation process for digital and novel interventions in a global context, with short summary of long-term societal and economic implications.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Fahmy H., Tarun D., editors. Mental Health Atlas 2020. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2021.

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