The rate of depression is significantly on the rise in adolescents and young adults. Unfortunately, the majority of depressed individuals go undetected and do not receive treatment, and this is particularly the case for economically disadvantaged and racial and ethnic minority populations. There is increasing recognition that treating depression more effectively requires taking into account individual differences in biological characteristics, environments, and lifestyles and providing care that is optimally matched to address these factors.
Moreover, reducing disparities in the treatment of depression requires new models and methods of delivering personalized interventions, and these interventions must be delivered in settings that provide accessible, acceptable, and affordable care.
One rapidly evolving outgrowth of precision medicine is the use of mobile (mHealth) technologies as a means to assess individuals and subsequently deliver health behavior interventions that can be tailored to an individual’s personal profile. Among the scientific opportunities offered by mHealth technologies is the capacity to correlate activity, physiological measures, and environmental exposures with health outcomes.
A wide range of mHealth technologies has been developed. These technologies are readily applicable in a number of health care areas: prevention and treatment, data collection and remote monitoring services, disease surveillance and medication adherence services, and health information systems. Smartphones, for example, offer unprecedented opportunities for health promotion and disease prevention, primarily through apps that can deliver, receive, and track health-related messages, behaviors, or client progress.
The depression demonstration project features the use of mHealth technologies to assist in the assessment, monitoring, and treatment of depression provided by primary care clinicians. The project is aimed at poor and culturally diverse populations faced with disparities that impact the accessibility, quality and affordability of mental health care. The project will explore the feasibility of a novel smartphone app designed to:
- improve communication and decision-making between provider and client;
- overcome stigma and psychosocial barriers that often prevent individuals from seeking or receiving care;
- boost the effectiveness and efficiency of evidence-based care; and
- produce high quality care.