Paper Info
Title
Developing a Digital Mental Health Platform for the Arab World: From Research to Action.
Abstract
Individuals within the Arab world rarely access mental health services. One of the major reasons for this relates to the stigma associated with mental disorders. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), untreated and undiagnosed individuals living with moderate to severe mental health disorders are more likely to die 10-20 years earlier than the estimated life expectancy of the general population. Mental disorders also cause a large amount of costs to economies. Access to mental health services is out of reach for many individuals within in the Arab world due to insufficient planning, inadequate community resources, and military conflicts. Online mental health information and services are growing within the region; however, they are embedded and often sidelined within a wealth of other general health information. The purpose of this paper is to present the conceptual framework of the Mental Health Assistant (MeHA) digital platform being developed for the Arab world. The aim of this platform is to provide mental health information and educational resources through the use of a conversational agent, multi-media information, and to digitally connect patients with mental health service providers. The conceptual framework for the platform is based on mental health and information technology expert feedback, review of both academic and gray literature on mental health, and an examination of leading mental health digital platforms. As a result of this process, we developed a conceptual framework that will guide the development of the MeHA platform.
Year
DOI
Venue
2019
10.3233/SHTI190101
Studies in Health Technology and Informatics
Keywords
Field
DocType
Mental health,Arab world,depression,anxiety,Qatar
Political science,Public relations,Mental health
Conference
Volume
ISSN
Citations 
262
0926-9630
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
0
9
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Mowafa S. Househ111631.32
Tanvir Alam200.68
Dena Al-Thani356.82
Jens Schneider4186.91
Mohammad Ali Siddig500.34
Luis Fernández-Luque617519.19
Marwa Qaraqe71712.45
Ala Alfuquha800.68
Shekhar Saxena900.68