Mental health apps and U.S. military veterans: Perceived importance and utilization of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder app portfolio
- PMID: 37917475
- DOI: 10.1037/ser0000806
Mental health apps and U.S. military veterans: Perceived importance and utilization of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder app portfolio
Abstract
U.S. veterans have historically experienced more mental health concerns as compared to the general population, yet face a variety of barriers to accessing care. Evidence-based and accessible resources, such as mobile apps, are needed to respond to the unique needs of a diverse veteran population. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA's) National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder has created a one-of-a-kind portfolio of mental health apps to target the needs of veterans and support the self-management of common concerns related to posttraumatic stress disorder. Using data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. veterans, the present study sought to examine how veterans perceived the importance of making each self-management app available to other Veterans; factors impacting veterans' intent to try each app; and actual uptake of each app. Results revealed that while 46.7%-75.0% of veterans reported that the apps are important for veterans, 5.8%-19.2% reported that they would be likely to download the apps, and only 5.0% reported having ever used any of them. Veterans who used any of the apps were more likely to be employed, have served two or more deployments, be married or partnered, use the VA as their primary source of health care, had more medical conditions, and were less likely to identify as Black. With respect to future app use, Black veterans were to 2-5 times more likely than White veterans to indicate a desire to download each of the apps. Other variables that showed consistent associations with increased likelihood of app download included greater smartphone utilization, being married or having a partner, lower household income, and history of mental health treatment. Implications of these results for the broader dissemination of mental health apps and promotion of their uptake are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Similar articles
-
Mobile applications may be the future of veteran mental health support but do veterans know yet? A survey of app knowledge and use.Psychol Serv. 2022 Aug;19(3):480-487. doi: 10.1037/ser0000562. Epub 2021 Jun 3. Psychol Serv. 2022. PMID: 34081527
-
U.S. Female Veterans Who Do and Do Not Rely on VA Health Care: Needs and Barriers to Mental Health Treatment.Psychiatr Serv. 2015 Nov;66(11):1200-6. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201400550. Epub 2015 Jul 15. Psychiatr Serv. 2015. PMID: 26174948
-
Barriers to the use of Veterans Affairs health care services among female veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.Psychol Serv. 2019 Aug;16(3):484-490. doi: 10.1037/ser0000230. Epub 2018 Feb 8. Psychol Serv. 2019. PMID: 29419309
-
Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense mental health apps: A systematic literature review.Psychol Serv. 2019 May;16(2):196-207. doi: 10.1037/ser0000289. Epub 2018 Nov 15. Psychol Serv. 2019. PMID: 30431306
-
VA mobile apps for PTSD and related problems: public health resources for veterans and those who care for them.Mhealth. 2018 Jul 26;4:28. doi: 10.21037/mhealth.2018.05.07. eCollection 2018. Mhealth. 2018. PMID: 30148141 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Assessing Digital Phenotyping for App Recommendations and Sustained Engagement: Cohort Study.JMIR Form Res. 2024 Nov 19;8:e62725. doi: 10.2196/62725. JMIR Form Res. 2024. PMID: 39560976 Free PMC article.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical