Adoption of Digital Healthcare Interventions and Innovations in Reducing Mental Health Stigma: A Perspective on Covid-19 (Preprint)
Authors: Nadeem Muhammad 
Published: May 2024

BACKGROUND

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese persons with mental health difficulties faced a major issue of mental health stigma. The pandemic's constant stress and social isolation intensified the stigma attached to people suffering from mental illnesses. To address this issue, a study was done in China to investigate mental health stigma in the context of digital media arts.

OBJECTIVE

The study involves randomly distributing 1300 questionnaires on a five-point Likert scale, with a response rate of 50% expected. Only 500 questionnaires, however, were found adequate for data analysis using partial least squares (PLS). According to the study, digital health innovation and adoption are crucial for enhancing mental health. The study's focus was confined to the adoption of innovation in mental healthcare in China because this sector received less attention in previous research that sought to establish a link between digital health innovation and digital mental healthcare.

METHODS

The study involves randomly distributing 1300 questionnaires on a five-point Likert scale, with a response rate of 50% expected. Only 500 questionnaires, however, were found adequate for data analysis using partial least squares (PLS). According to the study, digital health innovation and adoption are crucial for enhancing mental health. The study's focus was confined to the adoption of innovation in mental healthcare in China because this sector received less attention in previous research that sought to establish a link between digital health innovation and digital mental healthcare.

RESULTS

The study has important theoretical and practical implications for improving people's lives by strengthening their mental health system by use of digital technologies and awareness of digital health care tools. Overall, the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of mental health, which has previously been disregarded. These findings of this study are important for policymakers to aware the people about caring their mental healthcare by use of digital healthcare tools.

CONCLUSIONS

This study concludes that there is a significant role of digital applications and the digital era in the improvement of the mental health of the people of China. Indeed, this study demonstrates that with the help of adoption of the digital innovation in a productive way, the clinical and medical departments can be increased in an advanced way to facilitate the people who are facing the problem of mental health and mental crisis. Similarly, digital technology is utilized by different resources that are facilitating the people to improve their health status, the critical role of digitalization in mental health stigma must be considered because it is beneficial for people to improve their mental status. In the same way, this study highlights add to bring the hallmark changes in the digital mental healthcare, there is the storm need for digital mental innovation products and technologies that are providing the best facilities to the people to improve their health status, particularly in the advanced countries. Therefore, the responsibility of the management is to provide the best facilities by reasonably integrating the digital technology have the people with mental health stigma are needed to integrate these technologies in an ethical way to get treatment for their problems. Particularly, the mental problem associated with digital media arts must be addressed efficiently because the sadness and the other mental problems are creating a distinction between the life of the people and their social life. Since people with bad mental health are not effectively participating in social life, the need for digital technology and digital innovation adoption is critical for the better and advanced clinical treatment of the patient's mental health. In the same manner, the relationship between people with mental stigma and the clinical staff can be increased when the right opportunities and right tools of communication are provided to the people for their better understanding and communication with the experts for the treatment.