Symposia
Disaster Mental Health
Terika McCall, M.P.H., Ph.D., Other
Postdoctoral Fellow
Yale School of Public Health
New Haven, Connecticut
COVID-19 is the visible pandemic, however there is a less visible mental health crisis occurring. Stressors caused or worsened by the pandemic have led to an increase in mental health conditions globally, such as depressive and anxiety disorders. In efforts to curb transmission of the virus many mental health services were moved from in-person to digital platforms. A result of the accelerated uptake of telehealth modalities to receive services (e.g., counseling session with therapy) or to support self-managements (e.g., smartphone app to support individuals with major depressive disorder) has led to a surge in the number of digital mental health tools available today. There are over 20,000 mental health apps in the marketplace, however, most did not include members from minoritized communities (e.g., Black, Latinx) in their design process resulting in digital health tools that may not meet the needs of those who are traditionally underserved. The next generation of researchers must be taught the importance of incorporating user-centered design methods and recruiting diverse participants when developing a digital health tool. Inequitable design of digital health tools has the potential to further exacerbate mental health inequities.