Designing m-Health interventions for precision mental health support

Mobile health (m-Health) resources are emerging as a significant tool to overcome mental health support access barriers due to their ability to rapidly reach and provide support to individuals in need of mental health support. m-Health provides an approach to adapt and initiate mental health support at precise moments, when they are most likely to be effective for the individual. However, poor adoption of mental health apps in the real world suggests that new approaches to optimising the quality of m-Health interventions are critically needed in order to realise the potential translational benefits for mental health support. The micro-randomised trial is an experimental approach for optimising and adapting m-Health resources. This trial design provides data to construct and optimise m-Health interventions. The data can be used to inform when and what type of m-Health interventions should be initiated, and thus serve to integrate interventions into daily routines with precision. Here, we illustrate this approach in a case study, review implementation issues that need to be considered while conducting an MRT, and provide a checklist for mental health m-Health intervention developers.