Allen Rashell R, Malik Myrah A, Aquin Carley, Herceg Lucijana, Brémault-Phillips Suzette, Sevigny Phillip R
School and Clinical Child Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Heroes in Mind, Advocacy and Research Consortium, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2025 Apr 1;13:e64098. doi: 10.2196/64098.
Accessible mental health care, delivered via mobile apps or web-based services, may be essential for military members, public safety personnel (PSP), and veterans, as they report numerous barriers to seeking in-person care and are at an increased risk for a number of psychological disorders.
We aimed to identify, describe, and evaluate apps, resource banks (RBs), and web-based programs (WBPs), referred to as digital mental health interventions (DMHIs), recommended for military members, PSP, and veterans. A multidimensional and multisystemic view of resilience and well-being were maintained throughout this environmental scan.
Information was gathered from a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed literature, a Google search, and a targeted search of websites relevant to the study populations. DMHIs aimed at supporting resilience or well-being were included in the review, including those published in peer-reviewed articles, and those offered to these populations without research or literature backing their use.
In total, 69 DMHIs were identified in this study, including 42 apps, 19 RBs, and 8 WBPs, and were described based on 3 questions related to purpose, strategies, and evidence from the adapted Mobile App Rating Scale and the Mobile App Rating Scale. Each WBP and RB was then reviewed via the adapted Mobile App Rating Scale and each app via the Alberta Rating Index for Apps (ARIA). Overall, 24 (35%) of the DMHIs were recommended for military members, 20 (29%) for PSP, and 41 (59%) for veterans. The most common aim across apps, RBs, and WBPs was to increase happiness and well-being, and the most common strategies were advice, tips, and skills training. In total, 2 apps recommended for military members-PTSD Coach and Virtual Hope Box-received a high rating on the ARIA subscales and have also been trialed in pilot randomized control trial (RCT) and RCT evaluations, respectively, with positive initial results. Similarly, 2 apps recommended for PSP-PeerConnect and R2MR-have been trialed in non-RCT studies, with partially positive outcomes or little to no contradictory evidence and received a high rating on the ARIA. Finally, 2 apps recommended for veteran populations-PTSD Coach and VetChange-received high ratings on the ARIA and have been trialed via pilot-RCT and RCT studies, respectively, with positive outcomes.
In conclusion, there is a need for efficacy and effectiveness trials for DMHIs for military members, PSP, and veterans to ensure that they are effectively meeting the population's needs. While there appears to be many promising DMHIs, further research is needed before these interventions continue to be promoted as effective and widely distributed.
通过移动应用程序或基于网络的服务提供的可及心理健康护理，对于军人、公共安全人员（PSP）和退伍军人可能至关重要，因为他们报告了寻求面对面护理存在诸多障碍，并且患多种心理障碍的风险增加。
我们旨在识别、描述和评估推荐给军人、PSP和退伍军人的应用程序、资源库（RB）和基于网络的项目（WBP），统称为数字心理健康干预措施（DMHI）。在整个此次环境扫描过程中，保持了对复原力和幸福感的多维度和多系统视角。
通过对同行评审文献的全面回顾、谷歌搜索以及对与研究人群相关网站的定向搜索收集信息。旨在支持复原力或幸福感的DMHI被纳入此次综述，包括发表在同行评审文章中的，以及那些在没有研究或文献支持其使用的情况下提供给这些人群的。
本研究共识别出69种DMHI，包括42个应用程序、19个资源库和8个基于网络的项目，并根据与目的、策略以及改编后的移动应用程序评分量表和移动应用程序评分量表中的证据相关的3个问题进行了描述。然后，每个基于网络的项目和资源库通过改编后的移动应用程序评分量表进行评审，每个应用程序通过艾伯塔省应用程序评分指数（ARIA）进行评审。总体而言，24种（35%）DMHI被推荐给军人，20种（29%）被推荐给PSP，41种（59%）被推荐给退伍军人。应用程序、资源库和基于网络的项目中最常见的目标是提高幸福感，最常见的策略是建议、提示和技能培训。总共有2个推荐给军人的应用程序——创伤后应激障碍教练（PTSD Coach）和虚拟希望盒（Virtual Hope Box）——在ARIA子量表上获得了高分，并且分别在试点随机对照试验（RCT）和RCT评估中进行了试验，初步结果呈阳性。同样，2个推荐给PSP的应用程序——PeerConnect和R2MR——在非RCT研究中进行了试验，结果部分呈阳性或几乎没有矛盾证据，并且在ARIA上获得了高分。最后，2个推荐给退伍军人的应用程序——创伤后应激障碍教练和VetChange——在ARIA上获得了高分，并且分别通过试点RCT和RCT研究进行了试验，结果呈阳性。
总之，需要对针对军人、PSP和退伍军人的DMHI进行疗效和有效性试验，以确保它们有效地满足人群的需求。虽然似乎有许多有前景的DMHI，但在这些干预措施继续被推广为有效并广泛传播之前，还需要进一步的研究。
