Mobile Mental Health Adoption Among Providers and Patients: The Nursing Informaticists' Role

Mobile mental health as it relates to provider adoption and integration is an area of healthcare informatics in which nursing informaticists can influence. According to a survey conducted by Sigma Research Group and sponsored by SelfEcho, out of 401 mental health providers surveyed, only 8 percent stated that they have recommended smart phone apps to clients but 52 percent said a mobile app would help diagnose and assess clients (Comstock, 2014). Sixty eight percent also agreed that there is a need to integrate additional data but again, interest versus adoption of mobile mental health apps are quite low (Comstock, 2014). A usability assessment was performed on mood tracking smart phone applications (n = 28) to determine its effectiveness when selecting appropriate applications.;The usability assessment proved to be effective in providing baseline data regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the population sample. Ninety-three percent of the mood tracking applications assessed did not meet usability standards indicating the need for better guidelines and oversight of apps that influence mental health treatment.