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. 2024 Feb 12;14(2):e078029.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-078029.

Common practices for sociodemographic data reporting in digital mental health intervention research: a scoping review

Andrew Kirvin-Quamme  1 , Jennifer Kissinger  1 , Laurel Quinlan  1 , Robert Montgomery  1 , Mariya Chernenok  1 , Maddison C Pirner  1 , Sarah Pajarito  1 , Stephanie Rapoport  1 , Paul Wicks  2 , Alison Darcy  1 , Carolyn J Greene  3 , Athena Robinson  4
Affiliations

Common practices for sociodemographic data reporting in digital mental health intervention research: a scoping review

Andrew Kirvin-Quamme et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Background: The ability of digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) to reduce mental health disparities relies on the recruitment of research participants with diverse sociodemographic and self-identity characteristics. Despite its importance, sociodemographic reporting in research is often limited, and the state of reporting practices in DMHI research in particular has not been comprehensively reviewed.

Objectives: To characterise the state of sociodemographic data reported in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of app-based DMHIs published globally from 2007 to 2022.

Methods: A scoping review of RCTs of app-based DMHIs examined reporting frequency for 16 sociodemographic domains (eg, gender) and common category options within each domain (eg, woman). The search queried five electronic databases. 5079 records were screened and 299 articles were included.

Results: On average, studies reported 4.64 (SD=1.79; range 0-9) of 16 sociodemographic domains. The most common were age (97%) and education (67%). The least common were housing situation (6%), residency/location (5%), veteran status (4%), number of children (3%), sexual orientation (2%), disability status (2%) and food security (<1%). Gender or sex was reported in 98% of studies: gender only (51%), sex only (28%), both (<1%) and gender/sex reported but unspecified (18%). Race or ethnicity was reported in 48% of studies: race only (14%), ethnicity only (14%), both (10%) and race/ethnicity reported but unspecified (10%).

Conclusions: This review describes the widespread underreporting of sociodemographic information in RCTs of app-based DMHIs published from 2007 to 2022. Reporting was often incomplete (eg, % female only), unclear (eg, the conflation of gender/sex) and limited (eg, only options representing majority groups were reported). Trends suggest reporting has somewhat improved in recent years. Diverse participant populations must be welcomed and described in DMHI research to broaden learning and the generalisability of results, a prerequisite of DMHI's potential to reduce disparities in mental healthcare.

Keywords: Health Equity; MENTAL HEALTH; Randomized Controlled Trial; Systematic Review.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: AKQ, MC, MCP, SR, SP, RM, AD and AR are all employees of Woebot Health. RM is a former employee of Twill. PW is an associate editor at the Journal of Medical Internet Research and is on the editorial advisory boards of BMC Medicine, The Patient and Digital Biomarkers. PW is employed by Wicks Digital Health Ltd, which has received funding from Ada Health, AstraZeneca, Biogen, Bold Health, Corevitas, EIT, Endava, Happify, HealthUnlocked, Inbeeo, Kheiron Medical, Lindus Health, MedRhythms, Okko Health, PatientsLikeMe, Sano Genetics, The Learning Corp, The Wellcome Trust, THREAD Research, United Genomics, VeraSci and Woebot Health. PW and spouse are shareholders of WDH Investments, which owns stock in Avayl Gmbh, BlueSkeye AI, Earswitch, Lucida Medical, Sano Genetics and Una Health Gmbh. CJG is a consultant to Woebot Health. CJG would like to acknowledge support provided by the Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20GM109096 (Arkansas Children’s Research Institute, PI: Weber) and by the Translational Research Institute funded by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR003107 (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, PI: James). The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. JK and LQ are contractors to Woebot Health. JK is a former employee of PatientsLikeMe and has received funds as a consultant from PatientsLikeMe and EHIR.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram of study inclusion.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage of studies that reported each sociodemographic domain. Percentages were rounded to the nearest whole number; the domains of gender or sex and race or ethnicity were combined in the figure for visual clarity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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