Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov 22:14:1261795.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1261795. eCollection 2023.

Technology use and attitudes towards digital mental health in people with severe mental health problems: a survey study in China

Xiaolong Zhang  1   2 , Shôn Lewis  1   3 , Xu Chen  2   4 , Natalie Berry  1 , Sandra Bucci  1   3
Affiliations

Technology use and attitudes towards digital mental health in people with severe mental health problems: a survey study in China

Xiaolong Zhang et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Introduction: Digital mental health is a promising solution to support people with severe mental health problems (SMI) in China. However, little is known about the ownership rate of digital technologies and attitudes towards utilising digital health technologies (DHTs) among people with SMI in the Chinese context. The aims of this study were to understand: (i) digital technology ownership and usage rate of people with SMI in China; (ii) attitudes toward DHTs in mental health services; and (iii) how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced views on digital mental health.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was given to outpatients with SMI using the REDCap platform. To capture a diverse sample of people with SMI, the survey was distributed across psychiatric hospitals, general hospitals with a psychiatric unit, secondary hospitals, and community healthcare centres.

Results: In total, 447 survey respondents completed the survey. Relative high ownership rates of digital technologies were found, with smartphone ownership (95.5%) and access to the internet (82.1%) being the highest technologies reported. However, less than half of respondents reported frequent health-related usage of digital technologies, which may be related to the lack of knowledge in using DHTs. Most respondents found DHTs being useful for access to mental health services during the pandemic and were willing to use DHTs after the pandemic.

Discussion: Our data suggest that, despite the high ownership rate of digital technologies, training programmes to improve digital health literacy for people with SMI in China are necessary to realise the full potential of digital mental health.

Keywords: COVID-19; bipolar disorder; implementation; major depressive disorder; psychosis; smartphone.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

SL is Academic lead of Mental Health in Health Innovation Manchester. SL and SB are Directors and shareholders of CareLoop Health Ltd., a spin out from the University of Manchester to develop and market digital solutions for remote monitoring using smartphones for mental health conditions, currently schizophrenia and postnatal depression. SB also reports research funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and The Wellcome Trust. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ownership of digital technologies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Frequency of using different digital technologies.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Features used on smartphone.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Frequency of different types of apps used on smartphone.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Frequency of health related usage of digital technologies.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Interests in future digital health services.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. World Health Organization (2021). Comphrehensive mental health action plan 2013–2030. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/361248 (Accessed December 3, 2022).
    1. Liu NH, Daumit GL, Dua T, Aquila R, Charlson F, Cuijpers P, et al. . Excess mortality in persons with severe mental disorders: a multilevel intervention framework and priorities for clinical practice, policy and research agendas. World Psychiatry. (2017) 16:30–40. doi: 10.1002/wps.20384, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ma C, Yu S, Huang Y, Liu Z, Wang Q, Chen H, et al. . Burden of mental and substance use disorders — China, 1990−2019. China CDC Weekly. (2020) 2:804–9. doi: 10.46234/ccdcw2020.219, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huang Y, Wang Y, Wang H, Liu Z, Yu X, Yan J, et al. . Prevalence of mental disorders in China: a cross-sectional epidemiological study. Lancet Psychiatry. (2019) 6:211–24. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30511-X, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Li N, Pang L, Du W, Chen G, Zheng X. Association between poverty and psychiatric disability among Chinese population aged 15–64 years. Psychiatry Res. (2012) 200:917–20. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2012.05.026, PMID: - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources