Category: Technology
Xin Zhao, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
University of California, Irvine
Seattle, Washington
Nancy Lau, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
University of Washington School of Medicine
Seattle, Washington
Stephen Schueller, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
Associate Professor
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, California
Xin Zhao, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
University of California, Irvine
Seattle, Washington
Nancy Lau, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
University of Washington School of Medicine
Seattle, Washington
Jessica Jenness, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor
University of Washington
Lake Forest Park, Washington
Ashley Knapp, M.A., Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken an enormous toll on the mental health of adolescents and their families; the proportion of mental health-related emergency department visits for teenagers in 2020 increased ~31% from previous years. The significant unmet needs of adolescents have motivated a variety of innovative treatment approaches. Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) represent a potential solution that is scalable and cost-efficient for “digital natives” who were born and grew up with computers, smartphones, and the Internet. However, the large number of commercially available digital mental health tools far outpaces that of research studies. The adoption of digital mental health tools among adolescents remain low. Thus, there is an urgent need for understanding adolescents’ perspectives and behaviors around DMHI to inform appropriateness, design, and implementation. This symposium is comprised of a series of talks that provide insights into adolescents’ attitudes toward, adoption of, and engagement of DMHIs in various settings (e.g., community, clinical, online, and public health). The application of an interdisciplinary framework, quantitative and/or qualitative methodologies, and culturally responsive research practices will be discussed. Centering adolescents’ perspectives, associated implications for clinical practice, advocacy, and policy will be discussed. This research has the potential to inform effective dissemination and implementation of empirically supported care, and advance equity in care in the post-pandemic world.
Speaker 1 conducted needs assessment interviews in a community-based teen program within a public library to understand underserved youth’s design preferences for a digital MH service for anxiety. Speaker 2 will report results from a psychosocial needs assessment and pilot study testing the feasibility and acceptability of a mobile-app based psychosocial intervention for adolescents and young adults with cancer in a pediatric hospital setting. Speaker 3 will discuss the potential of using Asynchronous Remote Community (ARC) platforms (e.g., Slack) to support the delivery of evidence-based treatment for adolescent depression and describe the usability, feasibility, acceptability, and engagement of this innovative approach. Speaker 4 will share analyses of the association between psychological distress and use of mental health support over a three-year period (2019-2021) and adolescents’ self-reported reasons for not using online tools when experiencing psychological distress in a state representative large sample. Our discussant will describe the different types of qualitative and quantitative data–needs assessment, exit interviews, and population-level patterns – and how such approaches can inform the design of inclusive, innovative, and implementable strategies.
