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CC BY 4.0 · ACI open 2024; 08(02): e49-e61
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1788563
Review Article

Dealing with Diversity in Digital Psychological Interventions for Young People: A Structured Review

Farzad Jahedi
1   School of Social Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
,
Paul W. Fay Henman
1   School of Social Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
,
Jillian C. Ryan
2   Human Health, Health & Biosecurity, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Canberra, Australia
› Author Affiliations Funding This paper reports doctoral research undertaken by the principal author, which was funded under the CSIRO-UQ Collaboration on Responsible Innovation (2017–2024), Australia.
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Abstract

In recent years, despite significant progress in digital psychological interventions (DPIs), the prevalence of psychological issues among young adults remains a concern. While research on the feasibility and effectiveness of DPIs is extensive, there's a growing recognition of the need for a sociotechnical approach to enhance user engagement. This review aims to highlight the importance of integrating diversity, especially sociodemographic characteristics, into DPI design and implementation.

The review meticulously examined literature from six academic databases focused on DPIs tailored for users aged 12 to 26, spanning the period between 2009 and 2019. The data extraction process specifically targeted biosocial factors such as gender and ethnicity, as well as sociocultural elements like remoteness and labor force status among users. Among the initial pool of 879 articles, a refined selection of 25 underwent detailed analysis. Intriguingly, 14 of these studies did not treat sociodemographic factors as independent variables, leaving only 11 that did. Notably, gender and ethnicity emerged as the most frequently studied factors, with remoteness and labor force considerations receiving comparatively less attention.

Despite the acknowledged importance of user engagement in DPI effectiveness, the review highlights a critical gap: insufficient consideration of young adults' sociodemographic characteristics in intervention design and implementation. Therefore, the findings strongly support further mixed-method studies to fully understand the complex social factors influencing user engagement with DPIs. Closing this gap will undoubtedly refine and optimize DPIs to better meet the diverse needs of young adults dealing with psychological challenges.

Keywords

digital health - digital mental health - digital psychological intervention - demographics - social diversity

Protection of Human and Animal Subjects

No human subjects were involved in this study.




Publication History

Received: 29 January 2024

Accepted: 07 June 2024

Article published online:
15 July 2024

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

 

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