Health Literacy Promotion and Digital Interventions for Depressive Disorders

The lack of therapeutic treatment options for depressive disorders increases the relevance of digital interventions for patients and general practitioners (GPs), particularly to bridge waiting times. However, patients may require adequate (digital) health literacy (HL) to partake in such interventions.

This study contrasts expected benefits and risks of digital mental health interventions, specifically digital therapeutics on prescription (DTx), among GPs and patients with depression according to HL dimensions (access, understanding, appraisal, and application) and patients' personal determinants.

We conducted semi-structured interviews with purposively sampled GPs (n = 17) and patients with mild or moderate depression (n = 17) in Germany. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

DTx include benefits to access health information and promote HL as DTx can improve understanding of health content and foster self-management skills. But DTx also implies risks for routine care distribution and creates new media barriers. During waiting times patients appraise DTx for themselves as more positive than GPs expect. However, digital- and disease-specific challenges such as non-commitment, listlessness or lethargy appear to hinder the use of DTx in practical situations. While GPs were not convinced about the digital skills of their patients, patients raised concerns that depressive symptoms may inhibit them from actual use.

In the context of DTx for depressive disorders, patients' mental health needs are seldom noticed and rarely promoted. To foster (digital) HL, DTx should be comprehensively embedded in supply situations. [HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice. 2024;8(4):e236-e245.].