Digital Mental Health Interventions for Youth: A Scoping Review Protocol

A new study by researchers from Dalhousie University, Canada, aims to identify and categorize models, frameworks, and strategies used to study the implementation of digital mental health interventions targeted at youth aged 15-34 years. The scoping review, funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, will analyze primary research studies in multiple languages to inform the development of a digital psychoeducational health intervention.

Key Takeaways:

• The study will follow the Arksey-O'Malley five-stage scoping review method and the Scoping Review Methods Manual by the Joanna Briggs Institute.
• The researchers will identify and categorize implementation methods, evaluation frameworks, and implementation strategies used in isolation or combination in implementation research and practice.
• The study will use the Evidence Standards Framework for Digital Health Technologies by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to classify digital interventions based on functions.
• A pre-established working taxonomy will be used to synthesize conceptually distinct implementation outcomes.
• The scoping review will be conducted only on data presented in the published literature, and ethical approval is not applicable.
• The findings will be directly infused into a multidisciplinary team to co-design and pilot test a digital psychoeducational health intervention.
• The study's primary objective is to inform the development of a digital intervention to engage, educate, and empower youth to be informed stewards of their mental health.

Statistics:

• The study aims to identify primary research studies in CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, ERIC, Education Research Complete, MEDLINE, and APA PsycINFO on January 6, 2025.
• The researchers will screen and abstract data from approximately 10,000 records.
• The study will use a convergent integrated data synthesis method to analyze the data.
• The implementation methods will be operationalized according to predefined aims, including process models, evaluation frameworks, and implementation strategies.

Sources:

• "Models, frameworks, and strategies used to implement digital interventions targeted to youth mental health: a scoping review protocol" published in BMJ Open, 2025;15(10).
• BMJ Open, British Med Assoc House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JR, England, group.bmj.com/, bmjopen.bmj.com/.
• Stephana Julia Moss, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
• Canadian Institutes for Health Research.