Parker, L. 2016. Mental Health Messages in Prominent Mental Health Apps

This paper, “Mental Health Messages in Prominent Mental Health Apps” by Lisa Parker, et al, addressed exactly what the title states. Their analysis was quantitative, and they looked into apps from four countries: the UK, United States, Australia, and Canada. App stores differ by country, and as a result, their content is radically different. So, they looked into apps on the top 100 in mental health in their country. Figure 1.1 is a good description of their screening process, how they chose the apps they ended with. Essentially, these apps had to be designed for a mobile platform, they had to be available in the countries listed above, and they had to have messages about mental health within. They ended with 61 mental health apps that passed this test, out of 3,032. Thirty-five of their apps claimed to reduce anxiety, 16 claimed to help with mood disorders, and the rest (11 apps) claimed to help well-being or other mental health issues, such as anger management. They found two messages about mental health: poor mental health is universal, and people can manage these mental health problems through these apps. Of course, these apps did not show evidence backing their ability to help with mental health. 37- 61% of apps showed unconvincing, “vague”, as the paper puts it, evidence for their reasoning. Two whole apps mentioned formal studies of their own, only to not cite the studies. Parker, Lisa, et all. “Mental Health Messages in Prominent Mental Health Apps.” UNC University Libraries.

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