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Mental Health App Evaluation: Updating the American Psychiatric Association's Framework Through a Stakeholder-Engaged
Sarah Lagan1, Margaret R Emerson1, Darlene King1
1Division of Digital Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston (Lagan, Torous); College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha (Emerson); Department of Psychiatry, Utah Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas (King); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee (Matwin); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, and Department of Psychiatry, Stanford Medical Center, Palo Alto, California (Chan); Behavioral Health Informatics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia (Proctor); Department of Psychiatry, Northwell Health, New York City (Tartaglia); Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire (Fortuna); Department of Psychiatry, Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Boston (Aquino); Department of Mental Health, Office of Recovery and Empowerment, Boston (Walker); Department of Practice Management and Delivery Systems Policy (Dirst) and Department of Digital Health (Tatro), American Psychiatric Association, Washington, D.C.; Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts (Benson); Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Los Angeles (Myrick); Scarborough Hospital Toronto, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto (Gratzer). Dror Ben-Zeev, Ph.D., is editor of this column.
Abstract:
The app evaluation framework of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has emerged as an adaptable tool for those seeking to navigate the ever-growing space of mental health apps. The authors describe a meeting convened in December 2019 to refine the APA framework. The expert panel comprised 16 individuals across health care fields, with representation from psychiatry, psychology, social work, nursing, clinical informatics, peer support specialists, and individuals with lived mental health experience. This meeting resulted in an update to the APA framework with the addition of clearer question descriptions and the release of an eight-question screener that may be useful in clinical settings.
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