Version 1
: Received: 17 September 2024 / Approved: 17 September 2024 / Online: 17 September 2024 (11:55:12 CEST)
How to cite:
Browning, L.; Rashid, I.; Javanbakht, A. The Current State of Digital Technologies for the Treatment and Management of PTSD- A Look into the Future of Psychiatry. Preprints2024, 2024091313. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1313.v1
Browning, L.; Rashid, I.; Javanbakht, A. The Current State of Digital Technologies for the Treatment and Management of PTSD- A Look into the Future of Psychiatry. Preprints 2024, 2024091313. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1313.v1
Browning, L.; Rashid, I.; Javanbakht, A. The Current State of Digital Technologies for the Treatment and Management of PTSD- A Look into the Future of Psychiatry. Preprints2024, 2024091313. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1313.v1
APA Style
Browning, L., Rashid, I., & Javanbakht, A. (2024). The Current State of Digital Technologies for the Treatment and Management of PTSD- A Look into the Future of Psychiatry. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1313.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Browning, L., Imran Rashid and Arash Javanbakht. 2024 "The Current State of Digital Technologies for the Treatment and Management of PTSD- A Look into the Future of Psychiatry" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1313.v1
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to rapid growth in telemental health services and investment in digital mental health technologies. Digital mental health technologies could expand access to mental health care amid increasing provider deficit by providing tools for expedited psychiatric symptom assessment and treatment augmentation. This systematic review explores the recent evidence for the use of scalable digital tools, including virtual reality, neurofeedback training, wearables, mobile apps, digital phenotyping, and machine learning for PTSD symptom assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Methods: A PubMed search identified studies on digital technologies with current or future potential for scalability (accessible through a small, digital device without the virtual or in-person presence of a mental health care provider)–and PTSD diagnosis, symptom assessment, or symptom treatment as the primary outcome. Thirty-five studies inform this review. Results: Virtual reality exposure therapy is efficacious for combat-related PTSD treatment. Conclusions of studies investigating apps and neurofeedback training are limited by low sample size and methodological heterogeneity. Machine learning models demonstrate capability in detecting PTSD symptoms via passively collected data from smartphones, wearables, and actively collected data from patient speech, writing, and videos, but standardization of data collection and modeling are needed before application to clinical settings. Conclusions: Advancements in scalable digital tools could address barriers in healthcare access and improve patient engagement by providing asynchronous assessment and treatment augmentation. Future research utilizing diverse patient populations in standardized controlled trials is needed to determine evidence-based protocols for implementation.
Keywords
digital health; mental health; PTSD; virtual reality; digital phenotyping
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
