NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
ERIC Number: ED633637
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 221
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3795-2947-5
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Incorporating Community in the Design of Mental Health Technologies
Robledo Yamamoto, Fujiko
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Colorado at Boulder
Mental health issues are pervasive--one in five US adults experience mental illness each year. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Despite the widespread rates of mental illness and their devastating effects, there are still significant barriers that impact access to care, particularly for members of historically marginalized communities. Mental health technologies such as apps, teletherapy, or psychoeducational websites have the potential to improve accessibility and access to mental health management; however, there are still various individual, community, and systemic barriers that make this difficult. Understanding how community level factors impact the use of digital mental health technologies by involving various stakeholders could be a helpful start in addressing these multi-dimensional barriers. This dissertation focuses on evaluating the social context in which mental health technologies are used (or perhaps, not used) by communities. By understanding how mental health technologies are used in different contexts by different stakeholders, we can better understand the role that technology plays in mental health management, what factors affect its use, how technology impacts the relationships between stakeholders, and who is being served and who may be being left out. This dissertation addresses the following research question: "In what ways do structural and community influences support or hinder the use of mental health technologies, especially for communities that are disproportionately affected by barriers to mental health care?" Three empirical studies were conducted to address the research question. All of these studies focus on understanding the perspectives and needs of stakeholders, all while highlighting individual and community level benefits and challenges of using the identified mental health technologies. Study 1 consisted of conducting co-design workshops with graduate students who work in a shared environment to explore what types of technologies they envision to help address their stress. Our informants emphasized the use of stress management strategies that focus on fostering connections in the community. We presented a design space that embraces a more holistic and human approach to designing stress management technologies. Study 2 focused on a different class of mental health technology--technologies that help clients connect with therapists. In this study, we conducted in-depth interviews with mental health therapists to learn more about how teletherapy was meeting their needs and their client needs. We explored how therapists creatively adopted their interventions in order to make up for a lack of technical knowledge, limited visual cues, and limited client engagement. We offer a suite of design implications for systems that better support the nuanced and unique work of teletherapy. Study 3 involved multiple stakeholders--clients from the Hispanic community, mental health therapists, and technology workers--to identify benefits and challenges of using teletherapy for the Hispanic community. While there are benefits to the use of teletherapy with the Hispanic community, our informants revealed tensions and inequities that continue to affect access to teletherapy. Finally, a cross synthesis chapter uses McMillan and Chavis' sense of community model as a lens for analysis for the findings of each study and also offers an updated model to better evaluate the social context in which mental health technologies are used. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A