Connecting Patients and Clinicians: Shedding Light on Functionalities for Mental Health Apps in Depression Care

This paper evaluates the functionalities of mental health apps by developing and testing a smartphone application focusing on depression. This article follows a design science research approach, reviewing existing literature and app function-alities to identify essential functionalities for mental health care apps. The applica-tion integrates the PHQ-9 questionnaire and supports passive data collection for activity levels. The app provides real-time feedback and monitoring to patients and data access to their treating clinician. We evaluated usability and functionality with potential end users and healthcare professionals. The results show high usa-bility scores and highlight the importance of features such as in-app access to emergency services, self-monitoring tools, and progress tracking. Our findings indicate a strong preference for functionalities that support active engagement and immediate access to support in crises.     «

This paper evaluates the functionalities of mental health apps by developing and testing a smartphone application focusing on depression. This article follows a design science research approach, reviewing existing literature and app function-alities to identify essential functionalities for mental health care apps. The applica-tion integrates the PHQ-9 questionnaire and supports passive data collection for activity levels. The app provides real-time feedback and monitoring to patients and data a...     »