“Smartphone Apps Are Cool, But Do They Help Me?”: A Qualitative Interview Study of Adolescents’ Perspectives on Using Smartphone Interventions to Manage Nonsuicidal Self-Injury

Anja Čuš, Julian Edbrooke-Childs, Susanne Ohmann, Paul L. Plener and Türkan Akkaya-Kalayci
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Anja Čuš: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Julian Edbrooke-Childs: Evidence-Based Practice Unit, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Susanne Ohmann: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Paul L. Plener: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Türkan Akkaya-Kalayci: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a major mental health problem associated with negative psychosocial outcomes and it most often starts in early adolescence. Despite this, adolescents are rarely involved in informing the development of interventions designed to address their mental health problems. This study aimed to (1) assess adolescents’ needs and preferences about future interventions that are delivered through smartphones and (2) develop a framework with implications for designing engaging digital mental health interventions. Fifteen adolescent girls, aged 12–18 years, who met diagnostic criteria for a current NSSI disorder and were in contact with mental health services, participated in semi-structured interviews. Following a reflexive thematic analysis approach, this study identified two main themes: (1) Experiences of NSSI (depicts the needs of young people related to their everyday experiences of managing NSSI) and (2) App in Context (portrays preferences of young people about smartphone interventions and reflects adolescents’ views on how technology itself can improve or hinder engaging with these interventions). Adolescent patients expressed interest in using smartphone mental health interventions if they recognize them as helpful, relevant for their life situation and easy to use. The developed framework suggests that digital mental health interventions are embedded in three contexts (i.e., person using the intervention, mental health condition, and technology-related factors) which together need to inform the development of engaging digital resources. To achieve this, the cooperation among people with lived experience, mental health experts, and human computer interaction professionals is vital.

Keywords: NSSI; mHealth; mental health; smartphone apps; adolescence; qualitative study; user perspectives; user engagement; design framework; design implications (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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