A feasibility study of a mental health mobile app in the Dominican Republic: The untold story

Abstract

Mobile health (mHealth) interventions include mental health apps (MHapps). There are hundreds of MHapps, which have been touted as a means of revolutionizing mental health care delivery. In spite of the rosy outlook and promise of MHapps, there are challenges to implementation in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). We report on several domains of implementation: acceptance, appropriateness, engagement, and work processes assessed in two samples of clinicians and patients designed to develop and test the feasibility of a Spanish language Cognitive Behavioral VoiceThread® app for Dominican primary care patients with depression. Results indicated that feasibility of our eMH intervention was compromised by appropriateness of the target audience and the eligibility criteria used, including language, age, access to phones, and access to the internet. Both participants and clinical providers had varying degrees of engagement in the MHapp. Clinical providers had a desire for increased knowledge and capacity building, but also unspoken expectations and misaligned incentives. For participants, there were logistical and emotional barriers to use, some of which could not be fully determined in this study due to a lack of feasibility in terms of a low retention rate. Corresponding to these issues, we identified four potential solutions: 1) understanding of characteristics of end-users; 2) engagement of key stakeholders; 3) working within the existing infrastructure; and 4) addressing the social determinants of health. Unforeseen strengths also emerged as a result of our investigations. The challenges encountered in this pilot study can be viewed as evidence of failure or part of the incremental steps necessary to build future success.