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Advances in E-mental Health
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Advances in E-mental Health

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "TeleHealth and Digital Healthcare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 5251

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Artemisa Rocha Dores

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Center for Rehabilitation Research, School of Health, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
2. Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Interests: technologies applied to health; ICTs; eHealth; (neuro)cognitive rehabilitation; clinical communication; behavioural addictions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Cristina Mendes-Santos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS, Alfredo Allen 455, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Interests: digital mental health; internet interventions; oncology; technology-enabled interventions development; implementation research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A digital mental health revolution, propelled by digital technologies' accessibility, ubiquity, and cost effectiveness, has been unfolding. The provision of technology-enabled healthcare has emerged as an opportunity to broaden access to mental health services, increase their coverage, and offer responses to otherwise complex-to-reach populations, such as digital natives, remote and rural populations, people living with chronic conditions or disabilities, and asylum seekers and refugees. In recent years, a substantial body of evidence has been gathered on the efficacy of e-mental health approaches in improving clinical outcomes, treatment adherence, and healthcare sustainability. Yet, e-mental health research remains limited, and technology-enabled mental health interventions remain behind in translation to clinical practice.

Recently, the upsurge of the COVID-19 pandemic expedited the creation of various digital or hybrid services, enabling timely psychological assessment, crisis support delivery, and the continuity of mental healthcare provision, especially during lockdowns. However, such uptake of e-mental health occurred in many countries without proper workforce training or the definition of guidelines for implementing e-mental health in clinical practice, casting doubt on the readiness of the workforce to deliver e-mental health interventions, as well as the quality of its provision and impact on clinical practice.

The current Special Issue aims to contribute to disseminating the most recent advances regarding e-mental health good clinical practice, training, delivery, and impact on clinical and economic outcomes. Papers addressing digital technologies for mental healthcare purposes, focusing on e-mental health policy, training, intervention, assessment, and implementation, are invited to contribute to this Special Issue. A range of study populations, intervention modalities (e.g., unguided, guided, blended-care interventions), and research methods are welcome in this Special Issue.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in IJERPH.

Prof. Dr. Artemisa Rocha Dores
Dr. Cristina Mendes-Santos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • health professionals
  • digital mental health
  • e-mental health
  • information and communications technologies (ICTs)
  • telehealth
  • telemedicine
  • digital health
  • remote services
  • digital natives
  • remote and rural populations
  • asylum seekers
  • refugees

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 681 KiB  
Article
Breast Cancer Survivors’ Attitudes toward eMental Health: A Cross-Sectional Study
by Cristina Mendes-Santos, Teresa Campos, Diana Ferreira, Elisabete Weiderpass, Rui Santana and Gerhard Andersson
Healthcare 2023, 11(13), 1920; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11131920 - 03 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1174
Abstract
Background: Breast cancer survivors’ (BCS) attitudes toward eMental Health (eMH) are largely unknown, and adoption predictors and their interrelationships remain unclear. This study aimed to explore BCS’ attitudes toward eMH and investigate associated variables. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 336 Portuguese BCS was [...] Read more.
Background: Breast cancer survivors’ (BCS) attitudes toward eMental Health (eMH) are largely unknown, and adoption predictors and their interrelationships remain unclear. This study aimed to explore BCS’ attitudes toward eMH and investigate associated variables. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 336 Portuguese BCS was conducted. Attitudes toward eMH, depression and anxiety symptoms, health-related quality of life, and sociodemographic, clinical, and internet-related variables were assessed using validated questionnaires. Spearman-ranked correlations, χ2, and multiple regression analyses were computed to explore associations between attitudes and collected variables. Results: BCS held a neutral stance toward eMH. In models adjusted for age and education, positive attitudes were statistically significantly associated with increased depressive symptoms and worse emotional, cognitive, and body image functioning. Social network use, online health information and mental healthcare seeking, higher self-reported knowledge of eMH, and previous use of remote healthcare were positively associated with better attitudes toward eMH. Conclusions: eMH programs targeting BCS seem to be a promising strategy for providing supportive psychosocial care to BCS. However, increasing awareness about eMH efficacy and security may be necessary to improve its acceptance and use among BCS. Additional research is necessary to understand how BCS’ unmet care needs, and specifically their psychological distress severity, may impact BCS’ acceptance and use of eMH. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in E-mental Health)
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11 pages, 961 KiB  
Article
Portuguese Validation of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology Scale (UTAUT) to a COVID-19 Mobile Application: A Pilot Study
by Ivandra Araújo, Ana Grilo and Carina Silva
Healthcare 2023, 11(13), 1916; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11131916 - 03 Jul 2023
Viewed by 938
Abstract
The use of technology has proven to be a powerful tool in the fight against COVID-19 and its variants of concern (Gamma, Beta, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron). The urgency of responding to this worldwide pandemic has accelerated the development of monitoring systems and [...] Read more.
The use of technology has proven to be a powerful tool in the fight against COVID-19 and its variants of concern (Gamma, Beta, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron). The urgency of responding to this worldwide pandemic has accelerated the development of monitoring systems and contact tracing applications. Without technology’s contribution, the adverse effects on humanity economically, socially, and psychologically would be even more devastating. This study aimed to translate, adapt, and validate the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model in a Portuguese university population, to evaluate adherence to a mobile application for tracking COVID-19. An observational cross-sectional study was developed using a sample with 1081 participants (71% female, 59.2% with ages between 16 and 24, and 78.2% of the respondent’s university students). The Portuguese version model showed a good reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.82) and an acceptable overall adjustment to the sample under study (χ2/df = 3.732, CFI = 0.955, TLI = 0.944, RMSEA = 0.05, SRMR = 0.06); however, this model could be improved, as we proved. Since this is a pilot study, more studies are needed. The results indicated that the P-UTAUT can be improved for evaluating adherence to a COVID-19 mobile application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in E-mental Health)
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Review

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14 pages, 686 KiB  
Review
Functionality and Usability of mHealth Apps in Patients with Peritoneal Dialysis: A Systematic Review
by Shu-Mei Chao, Chao-Kuei Pan, Ming-Ling Wang, Yu-Wen Fang and Shu-Fen Chen
Healthcare 2024, 12(5), 593; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12050593 - 05 Mar 2024
Viewed by 731
Abstract
mHealth has been utilized in the care of patients with chronic kidney disease, allowing the collection of patient health-related data, offering disease-related information, enabling the tracking and recording of biochemical parameters, and enabling communication with healthcare providers in real time through applications. mHealth [...] Read more.
mHealth has been utilized in the care of patients with chronic kidney disease, allowing the collection of patient health-related data, offering disease-related information, enabling the tracking and recording of biochemical parameters, and enabling communication with healthcare providers in real time through applications. mHealth may improve the health outcomes in patients with peritoneal dialysis. This systematic review aimed to summarize evidence regarding the functionality and usability of mHealth apps in patients with peritoneal dialysis. We conducted a comprehensive literature review, searching in five databases, including CINAHL, Cochrane, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science, to retrieve titles and abstracts related to peritoneal dialysis and mHealth applications for PRISMA recommendations from January 2013 to December 2023. Overall, 11 studies met all the inclusion criteria. The functionality of mHealth apps included inform, instruct, record, display, guide, remind/alert, and communicate. Most of the apps have multifunctionality. The usability was categorized into three aspects: efficiency (self-efficacy and usability), satisfaction, and effectiveness (underwent kidney transplantation and switched to hemodialysis, rehospitalization, peritonitis rate, infection rates at exit sites, mortality, fluid overload, inadequate solute clearance, biochemical values, quality of life, consumer quality index, and technology readiness). Generally, outcomes in the intervention group had better effects compared to those in the control group. Multifunctional mHealth apps show a good potential in improving the efficiency, satisfaction, and effectiveness for patients compared to traditional care. Future research should include more studies and participants to explore and verify the long-term effectiveness of mHealth apps. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in E-mental Health)
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20 pages, 605 KiB  
Review
The Importance of Technology in the Combined Interventions of Cognitive Stimulation and Physical Activity in Cognitive Function in the Elderly: A Systematic Review
by Rute Rocha, Sara Margarida Fernandes and Isabel M. Santos
Healthcare 2023, 11(17), 2375; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11172375 - 23 Aug 2023
Viewed by 890
Abstract
Background: Numerous studies have been developed in an attempt to understand which factors best predict improvements in cognitive function in the elderly such as exergaming. The aim of this study was to investigate and systematize literature on intervention programs that simultaneously include cognitive [...] Read more.
Background: Numerous studies have been developed in an attempt to understand which factors best predict improvements in cognitive function in the elderly such as exergaming. The aim of this study was to investigate and systematize literature on intervention programs that simultaneously include cognitive stimulation and physical activity, understand the importance of the use of new technology, including exergaming or computer programs, and understand their impact on cognitive function in older adults, giving indications about their contribution to healthy aging. Methods: A narrative approach was used for extraction and synthesis of the data. Relevant studies were identified from electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Academic Search Complete. Results: Thirty-two articles, involving 2815 participants, were identified. All selected studies were randomized controlled studies. The studies were published between 2011 and 2020. All studies included a combination of cognitive and physical interventions. Many of the studies used technology to administer the cognitive stimulation program. Conclusions: Most of the analyzed studies used exergaming in physical and cognitive interventions, demonstrating that this new form of intervention exerts lasting and stable benefits in cognition. However, we concluded that more studies are needed to compare interventions that use exergaming or computer programs with traditional interventions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in E-mental Health)
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Other

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13 pages, 578 KiB  
Systematic Review
Promoting Sexual Health in Colorectal Cancer Patients and Survivors: Results from a Systematic Review
by Hélia B. Rocha, Bruna C. Carneiro, Priscila A. Vasconcelos, Raquel Pereira, Ana Luísa Quinta-Gomes and Pedro J. Nobre
Healthcare 2024, 12(2), 253; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12020253 - 19 Jan 2024
Viewed by 750
Abstract
Background: Colorectal cancer diagnosis and treatment negatively impact sexual health. However, there is still a lack of interventions targeting the sexual healthcare needs of colorectal cancer patients and survivors. This systematic review aimed to identify and summarize the efficacy of available psychological interventions [...] Read more.
Background: Colorectal cancer diagnosis and treatment negatively impact sexual health. However, there is still a lack of interventions targeting the sexual healthcare needs of colorectal cancer patients and survivors. This systematic review aimed to identify and summarize the efficacy of available psychological interventions aimed at improving colorectal cancer patients’ and survivors’ sexual health. Methods: This review followed PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. A database search was conducted for studies published until July 2023 on EBSCO Host, Web of Science, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library. Manuscripts were screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The risk of bias was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Results: From the 1499 records screened, four studies describing psychological interventions to improve the sexual health of the target population were identified. All studies reported on e-health programs and showed evidence of their efficacy in the improvement of participants’ sexual function. The studies presented low scores on the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Conclusions: Despite the evidence that tele/e-health psychological interventions have the potential to effectively promote sexual health in colorectal cancer patients and survivors, more robust research is needed to allow for generalization. Future research should further assess the efficacy of e-health interventions (eMental Health) in promoting sexual health in patients with colorectal cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in E-mental Health)
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