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The Role of Mobile and Virtual Reality Applications to Support Well-Being: An Expert View and Systematic App Review

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Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2021 (INTERACT 2021)

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Abstract

Interactive technologies for autonomous mental health management are on the rise due to limited therapy access and stigma. However, most commercial mental health apps are neither theory-based nor clinically tested, and psychological theories are not easily accessible to app designers. Thus, it remains unclear if current mobile and VR mental health apps meet therapists’ expectations. To address this gap, we conducted interviews (\(N=11\)) to build an understanding about current therapeutic practices with a focus on emotion regulation and their applicability to mobile apps. We then conducted a systematic app review of 60 mental-health-related mobile and VR apps applying the themes identified in our interviews as an understanding lens. We draw upon the identified discrepancies to pinpoint design implications for better embedding lived therapeutic practice into mental health apps. We contribute by providing a common grounding between therapists and developers on the features and properties of well-being mobile and VR apps.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Apart from the App Prana [55], which is to date not yet released. Here, we watched demonstration videos and playthroughs on YouTube.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all participants for taking part in the study. This work was supported through multiple funding schemes. This research is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) under Germanys Excellence Strategy (EXC 2077, University of Bremen) and a Lichtenberg Professorship funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. Also, we acknowledge the support of the Leibniz ScienceCampus Bremen Digital Public Health (lsc-diph.de), which is jointly funded by the Leibniz Association (W4/2018), the Federal State of Bremen and the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology—BIPS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Nadine Wagener, Johannes Schöning, Yvonne Rogers & Jasmin Niess

  2. University College London, London, UK

    Tu Dinh Duong & Yvonne Rogers

  3. University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland

    Johannes Schöning & Jasmin Niess

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  1. Nadine Wagener
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  2. Tu Dinh Duong
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  3. Johannes Schöning
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  4. Yvonne Rogers
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  5. Jasmin Niess
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Correspondence to Nadine Wagener .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Carmelo Ardito

  2. Computer Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Rosa Lanzilotti

  3. Computer Science Department, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Alessio Malizia

  4. Department of Computer Science, University of York, York, UK

    Helen Petrie

  5. Computer Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Antonio Piccinno

  6. Computer Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Giuseppe Desolda

  7. Microsoft Research, Redmond, WA, USA

    Kori Inkpen

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Wagener, N., Duong, T.D., Schöning, J., Rogers, Y., Niess, J. (2021). The Role of Mobile and Virtual Reality Applications to Support Well-Being: An Expert View and Systematic App Review. In: Ardito, C., et al. Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2021. INTERACT 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12935. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85610-6_16

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