mHealth for mental health: Expanding the reach of care

With an ongoing global mental health crisis, mobile health (mHealth) initiatives may serve as a viable alternative to traditional in-person services. mHealth has recently catapulted to the forefront of digital solutions for mental health care inequities globally and in resource-constrained settings. Smartphones have become ubiquitous regardless of sociodemographic characteristics, with close to 7 billion users worldwide and 86% of the world's population owning a smartphone. mHealth interventions have the potential to improve access to evidence-based mental health care and reduce health disparities. Here, we synthesize the state of the science of mHealth initiatives to serve the needs of the following vulnerable populations: children and young people, people living with serious mental illness, and those who reside in low- and middle-income countries. Supporting mental health gaps in these underserved populations is a major public health priority that warrants interdisciplinary collaboration across health care, industry, and research communities. We present a review of the background literature, discuss clinical implications, and future research directions. Research evidence suggests that portable self-guided and cost-effective mHealth tools and interventions have the potential to revolutionize mental health care for these vulnerable populations with significant unmet needs.