Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research, Institute of Public Health Forvie Site, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Box 113, Cambridge CB2 0SR, UK.
Global Health. 2014 Mar 26;10:17. doi: 10.1186/1744-8603-10-17.
Two phenomena have become increasingly visible over the past decade: the significant global burden of disease arising from mental illness and the rapid acceleration of mobile phone usage in poorer countries. Mental ill-health accounts for a significant proportion of global disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and years lived with disability (YLDs), especially in poorer countries where a number of factors combine to exacerbate issues of undertreatment. Yet poorer countries have also witnessed significant investments in, and dramatic expansions of, mobile coverage and usage over the past decade.
The conjunction of high levels of mental illness and high levels of mobile phone usage in poorer countries highlights the potential for "mH(2)" interventions--i.e. mHealth (mobile technology-based) mental health interventions--to tackle global mental health challenges. However, global mental health movements and initiatives have yet to engage fully with this potential, partly because of scepticism towards technological solutions in general and partly because existing mH(2) projects in mental health have often taken place in a fragmented, narrowly-focused, and small-scale manner. We argue for a deeper and more sustained engagement with mobile phone technology in the global mental health context, and outline the possible shape of an integrated mH(2) platform for the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of mental health.
Existing and developing mH(2) technologies represent an underutilised resource in global mental health. If development, evaluation, and implementation challenges are overcome, an integrated mH2 platform would make significant contributions to mental healthcare in multiple settings and contexts.
在过去十年中，出现了两个日益明显的现象：精神疾病给全球带来的巨大疾病负担，以及发展中国家手机使用率的快速上升。精神健康不良状况在全球伤残调整生命年（DALYs）和残疾生活年（YLDs）中占很大比例，特别是在一些因素导致治疗不足问题恶化的较贫穷国家。然而，较贫穷国家在过去十年中也对移动覆盖范围和使用进行了大量投资，并实现了显著扩展。
在贫穷国家，精神疾病高发和手机使用率高这两者并存，突显了“mH(2)”干预措施（即移动健康（基于移动技术的）心理健康干预措施）有潜力应对全球精神健康挑战。然而，全球精神卫生运动和倡议尚未充分利用这一潜力，部分原因是对技术解决方案普遍持怀疑态度，部分原因是现有的心理健康 mH(2)项目往往以零碎、狭隘和小规模的方式进行。我们呼吁在全球精神卫生背景下更深入、更持续地利用手机技术，并概述了一个集成的 mH(2)平台用于精神卫生的诊断、治疗和监测的可能形式。
现有的和发展中的 mH(2)技术是全球精神卫生领域中未得到充分利用的资源。如果克服了开发、评估和实施方面的挑战，那么集成的 mH2 平台将在多个环境和背景下为精神卫生保健做出重大贡献。
