Mobile Health Interventions for Mental Health Literacy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Abstract
Background: Mobile health (mHealth) interventions, deployed via digital devices like smartphones, have been employed to promote mental health literacy (MHL) by offering interactive, on-demand features that enhance knowledge, encourage help-seeking, and reduce stigma, while supporting scalable implementation.
Objective: To understand the impact of mHealth interventions on MHL compared to control conditions (non-mHealth interventions, waitlist, no intervention).
Methods: Five databases were searched for randomized controlled trials assessing mHealth interventions for MHL. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted for overall MHL, knowledge, help-seeking, and stigma reduction. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool.
Results: Compared to controls, mHealth interventions were associated with significantly higher overall MHL (SMD=0.10, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.19), knowledge (SMD=0.23, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.37), and help-seeking (SMD=0.18, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.33) at post-intervention.
Conclusions: mHealth interventions were associated with higher MHL relative to controls, which may yield public health benefits when implemented at scale.