Significance of timely responses to mental health crises during unprecedented societal and global changes using an agile, empathic and user-centred digital approach: lessons from the Hong Kong experience

Abstract

<p>The global society has faced an increasing number of unprecedented large-scale collective threats in the past years. With trends of deteriorating mental health seen worldwide, further action is urgently needed to ensure appropriate services can be delivered in a timely manner. Despite the rise of digital psychiatry, treatment gaps remain substantial. Improvements in the accessibility of service but not acceptability can offer little to reduce the barriers to help-seeking. This article describes the experience of the development of a novel low-cost, empathic, and timely online tool incorporating user-centred design and research in the provision of first-line mental health support amid ongoing population-level crises. Key elements are identified and highlighted for application in future research and practice across settings, including in population screening, clinical practice, as part of humanitarian aid, and in resource-limited and conflict settings. We believe the experience can inform the development of a new generation of engagement and intervention tools.</p>