The increase of mental illness cases around the world can be described as an urgent and serious global health threat. Around 500 million people suffer from mental disorders, among which depression, schizophrenia, and dementia are the most prevalent. Revolutionary technological paradigms such as the Internet of Things (IoT) provide us with new capabilities to detect, assess, and care for patients early. This paper comprehensively survey works done at the intersection between IoT and mental health disorders. We evaluate multiple computational platforms, methods and devices, as well as study results and potential open issues for the effective use of IoT systems in mental health. We particularly elaborate on relevant open challenges in the use of existing IoT solutions for mental health care, which can be relevant given the potential impairments in some mental health patients such as data acquisition issues, lack of self-organization of devices and service level agreement, and security, privacy and consent issues, among others. We aim at opening the conversation for future research in this rather emerging area by outlining possible new paths based on the results and conclusions of this work.

The excessive and problematic consumption of alcohol characterizes Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). In Mexico, the 12-month prevalence of any substance is 2.5%, and the lifetime prevalence of alcohol dependence is 5.9%. Ecological Momentary Interventions (EMIs) are treatments that are provided to patients during their daily lives and in natural settings. EMIs can monitor alcohol consumption, provide personalized feedback, and deliver coping strategies to help individuals manage their cravings and avoid relapse. This work discusses challenges and opportunities associated with technology-based Ecological Momentary Interventions (EMIs) for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in Mexico. We aim to contribute valuable insights into improving AUD interventions and strategies for the Mexican population, which could also provide insights into LATAM countries with similar contexts.

Around 500 million people suffer from mental disorders, from which depression, schizophrenia, and dementia are the most prevalent. In Mexico, roughly 17% of people have at least one mental disorder and one in four will be affected at least once in their lifetime. Pervasive technologies are making it possible to support health professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from mental and behavioral disorders in developed economies. In this article, we present the results of a qualitative study with mental health professionals. Our study shows that although the use of pervasive technology can provide benefits to health professionals in the mental health domain, there are still significant challenges, opportunities, and concerns that need to be addressed by the scientific community. This article aims at opening the conversation for research in this emerging area by outlining some challenges and opportunities in developing countries.

Risky alcohol consumption and binge drinking among Mexican youth represent significant public health issues. In this work, we present SofIA, a mobile application designed to monitor and intervene in the alcohol consumption patterns of Mexican youth. We designed a naturalistic, formative study intended to obtain feedback on SofIA. This study aimed to assess the usability and effectiveness of the application using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and the Chatbot Usability Questionnaire (CUQ). Our results indicate a moderate level of usability with suggestions for targeted improvements to enhance user experience and application efficacy. This study provides insights into the design of mobile apps for public health interventions for youth alcohol misuse, highlighting the need for further research to optimize these digital tools.