A Framework for the Implementation of Digital Mental Health Interventions: The Importance of Feasibility and Acceptability Research.

ABSTRACT

Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) have the potential to serve a significantly wider portion of the population in need of mental health services. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has especially highlighted the exacerbation of mental health disparities among minoritized populations. Innovations and research on DMHIs continue to expand, reinforcing the need for a more systemic process of DMHI implementation. In practice, DMHI implementation often skips the fundamental steps of conducting acceptability and feasibility studies. We propose a DMHI implementation framework that identifies an acceptability and feasibility study as an essential first step, simultaneously centering equitable processes that address populations disproportionately affected by mental illness.