Background: The number of mental health apps (MHapps) developed and now available to smartphone users has increased in recent years. MHapps and other technology-based solutions have the potential to play an important part in the future of mental health care; however, there is no single guide for the development of evidence-based MHapps. Many currently available MHapps lack features that would greatly improve their functionality, or include features that are not optimized. Furthermore, MHapp developers rarely conduct or publish trial-based experimental validation of their apps. Indeed, a previous systematic review revealed a complete lack of trial-based evidence for many of the hundreds of MHapps available. Objective: To guide future MHapp development, a set of clear, practical, evidence-based recommendations is presented for MHapp developers to create better, more rigorous apps. Methods: A literature review was conducted, scrutinizing research across diverse fields, including mental health interventions, preventative health, mobile health, and mobile app design. Results: Sixteen recommendations were formulated. Evidence for each recommendation is discussed, and guidance on how these recommendations might be integrated into the overall design of an MHapp is offered. Each recommendation is rated on the basis of the strength of associated evidence. It is important to design an MHapp using a behavioral plan and interactive framework that encourages the user to engage with the app; thus, it may not be possible to incorporate all 16 recommendations into a single MHapp. Conclusions: Randomized controlled trials are required to validate future MHapps and the principles upon which they are designed, and to further investigate the recommendations presented in this review. Effective MHapps are required to help prevent mental health problems and to ease the burden on health systems.

Despite the high prevalence of mental health problems and disorders that develop in adolescence and early adulthood, young people tend to not seek professional help. Young men and young people from ...

Background: Despite a high level of research, policy, and practice interest in help-seeking for mental health problems and mental disorders, there is currently no agreed and commonly used definition or conceptual measurement framework for help-seeking. Methods: A systematic review of research activity in the field was undertaken to investigate how help-seeking has been conceptualized and measured. Common elements were used to develop a proposed conceptual measurement framework. Results: The database search revealed a very high level of research activity and confirmed that there is no commonly applied definition of help-seeking and no psychometrically sound measures that are routinely used. The most common element in the help-seeking research was a focus on formal help-seeking sources, rather than informal sources, although studies did not assess a consistent set of professional sources; rather, each study addressed an idiosyncratic range of sources of professional health and community care. Similarly, the studies considered help-seeking for a range of mental health problems and no consistent terminology was applied. The most common mental health problem investigated was depression, followed by use of generic terms, such as mental health problem, psychological distress, or emotional problem. Major gaps in the consistent measurement of help-seeking were identified. Conclusion: It is evident that an agreed definition that supports the comparable measurement of help-seeking is lacking. Therefore, a conceptual measurement framework is proposed to fill this gap. The framework maintains that the essential elements for measurement are: the part of the help-seeking process to be investigated and respective time frame, the source and type of assistance, and the type of mental health concern. It is argued that adopting this framework will facilitate progress in the field by providing much needed conceptual consistency. Results will then be able to be compared across studies and population groups, and this will significantly benefit understanding of policy and practice initiatives aimed at improving access to and engagement with services for people with mental health concerns.

Synopsis: A survey was made of 274 non-institutionalized persons aged 70 and over living in Hobart. The prevalence of dementia and of depression was measured by interviewing subjects using a modified version of the Geriatric Mental State Schedule (GMS) (Copeland et al. 1976) and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (Folstein et al. 1975). Rates of morbidity were derived from different diagnostic procedures. These were: (1) diagnoses made by a psychiatrist (A.S.H.) directly from the interview schedules and audiotapes, and rated as mild, moderate or severe; (2) the criteria laid down in DSM-III, converted into algorithms describing 3 degrees of severity; and (3) the algorithms for pervasive dementia and depression proposed by Gurland et al. (1983), and from these authors' rational scales. In addition, the relation between scales for dementia and for depression and the diagnosed categories was examined. Some problems in applying these methods to aged persons in the community are discussed. It is concluded that more detailed specification of criteria is desirable if the comparative epidemiology of dementia and depression in old age is to advance.

Aim: headspace is Australia's innovation in youth mental healthcare and comprises the largest national network of enhanced primary care, youth mental health centres world‐wide. headspace centres aim to intervene early in the development of mental ill‐health for young people aged 12 to 25 years by breaking down the barriers to service access experienced by adolescents and emerging adults and providing holistic healthcare. Centres have been progressively implemented over the past 12 years and are expected to apply a consistent model of integrated youth healthcare. Internationally, several countries are implementing related approaches, but the specific elements of such models have not been well described in the literature.Method: This paper addresses this gap by providing a detailed overview of the 16 core components of the headspace centre model.Results: The needs of young people and their families are the main drivers of the headspace model, which has 10 service components (youth participation, family and friends participation, community awareness, enhanced access, early intervention, appropriate care, evidence‐informed practice, four core streams, service integration, supported transitions) and six enabling components (national network, Lead Agency governance, Consortia, multidisciplinary workforce, blended funding, monitoring and evaluation).Conclusion: Through implementation of these core components headspace aims to provide easy access to one‐stop, youth‐friendly mental health, physical and sexual health, alcohol and other drug, and vocational services for young people across Australia.