Mobile apps have increasingly become an innovative tool that can provide information and resources to those who have service needs but often lack access to and knowledge about how to improve their well-being in today’s society. In China, although the number of Internet users has increased substantively, there has been little discussion on how mobile apps can help social workers in their delivery of behavioral health services. This article features three highly used apps that facilitate behavioral health care service delivery in the United States and provides recommendations for developing apps for social work practice in China.
AnhøjJ.MøldrupC. (2004) ‘Feasibility of Collecting Diary Data from Asthma Patients through Mobile Phones and SMS (Short Message Service): Response Rate Analysis and Focus Group Evaluation from a Pilot Study’, Journal of Medical Internet Research6(4): e42.
AsiimweC.GelvinD.LeeE.AmorY.B.QuintoE.KatureebeC.SundaramL.BellD.BergM. (2011) ‘Use of an Innovative, Affordable, and Open-Source Short Message Service-Based Tool to Monitor Malaria in Remote Areas of Uganda’, The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene85(1): 26–33.
4.
BaiJ. (2014) ‘What is the Role of Social Work in China? A Multi-dimensional Analysis’, Advances in Social Work15(2): 495–506.
5.
BakkerD.RickardN. (2018) ‘Engagement in Mobile Phone App for Self-Monitoring of Emotional Wellbeing Predicts Changes in Mental Health: MoodPrism’, Journal of Affective Disorders227: 432–42.
6.
BeckA.J.ManderscheidR.W.BuerhausP. (2018) ‘The Future of the Behavioral Health Workforce: Optimism and Opportunity’, American Journal of Preventive Medicine54(6 Suppl. 3): S187–89.
7.
BerenguerA.GoncalvesJ.HosioS.FerreiraD.AnagnostopoulosT.KostakosV. (2017) ‘Are Smartphones Ubiquitous? An In-Depth Survey of Smartphone Adoption by Seniors’, IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine6(1): 104–10.
8.
BostoenK.BilukhaO.O.FennB.MorganO.W.TamC.C.ter VeenA.ChecchiF. (2007) ‘Methods for Health Surveys in Difficult Settings: Charting Progress, Moving Forward’, Emerging Themes in Epidemiology4(1): 13.
9.
BoulosM.N.K.WheelerS.TavaresC.JonesR. (2011) ‘How Smartphones Are Changing the Face of Mobile and Participatory Healthcare: An Overview, with Example from eCAALYX’, Biomedical Engineering Online10: 24.
10.
BrianR.M.Ben-ZeevD. (2014) ‘Mobile Health (mHealth) for Mental Health in Asia: Objectives, Strategies, and Limitations’, Asian Journal of Psychiatry10: 96–100.
11.
BushN.E.SmolenskiD.J.DennesonL.M.WilliamsH.B.ThomasE.K.DobschaS.K. (2017) ‘A Virtual Hope Box: Randomized Controlled Trial of a Smartphone App for Emotional Regulation and Coping with Distress’, Psychiatric Services68(4): 330–6.
12.
BushN.E.DobschaS.K.CrumptonR.DennesonL.M.HoffmanJ.E.CrainA.CromerR.KinnJ.T. (2015) ‘A Virtual Hope Box Smartphone App as an Accessory to Therapy: Proof-of-Concept in a Clinical Sample of Veterans’, Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior45(1): 1–9.
ChenJ. (2018) ‘Some People May Need It, but Not Me, Not Now: Seeking Professional Help for Mental Health Problems in Urban China’, Transcultural Psychiatry55(6): 754–74.
15.
ChienW.-T.YeungF.K.K.ChanA.H.L. (2014) ‘Perceived Stigma of Patients with Severe Mental Illness in Hong Kong: Relationships with Patients’ Psychosocial Conditions and Attitudes of Family Caregivers and Health Professionals’, Administration and Policy in Mental Health41(2): 237–51.
16.
China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) (2018) ‘Statistical Report on Internet Development in China’ (42nd edn), Available online at: http://www.cac.gov.cn/2019-08/30/c_1124939590.htm (accessed 22 February 2020).
17.
CocosilaM.CoursarisC.YuanY. (2004) ‘M-Healthcare for Patient Self-Management: A Case for Diabetics’, International Journal of Electronic Healthcare1(2): 221–41.
18.
CraigS.L.Calleja LorenzoM.V. (2014) ‘Can Information and Communication Technologies Support Patient Engagement? A Review of Opportunities and Challenges in Health Social Work’, Social Work in Health Care53(9): 845–64.
19.
DengZ.HongZ.RenC.ZhangW.XiangF. (2018) ‘What Predicts Patients’ Adoption Intention Toward mHealth Services in China: Empirical Study’, JMIR mHealth and uHealth6(8): e172.
20.
EdwardsE.A.LumsdenJ.RivasC.SteedL.EdwardsL.A.ThiyagarajanA.SohanpalR.CatonH.GriffithsC.J.MunafòM.R.TaylorS.WaltonR.T. (2016) ‘Gamification for Health Promotion: Systematic Review of Behaviour Change Techniques in Smartphone Apps’, BMJ Open6(10): e012447.
21.
FairhurstK.SheikhA. (2008) ‘Texting Appointment Reminders to Repeated Non-attenders in Primary Care: Randomised Controlled Study’, Quality & Safety in Health Care17(5): 373–6.
22.
FirthJ.TorousJ.NicholasJ.CarneyR.PratapA.RosenbaumS.SarrisJ. (2017a) ‘The Efficacy of Smartphone-Based Mental Health Interventions for Depressive Symptoms: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials’, World Psychiatry: Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA)16(3): 287–98.
23.
FirthJ.TorousJ.NicholasJ.CarneyR.RosenbaumS.SarrisJ. (2017b) ‘Can Smartphone Mental Health Interventions Reduce Symptoms of Anxiety? A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials’, Journal of Affective Disorders218: 15–22.
24.
FukuokaY.KamitaniE.BonnetK.LindgrenT. (2011) ‘Real-Time Social Support through a Mobile Virtual Community to Improve Healthy Behavior in Overweight and Sedentary Adults: A Focus Group Analysis’, Journal of Medical Internet Research13(3): e49.
25.
FukuokaY.LindgrenT.JongS. (2012) ‘Qualitative Exploration of the Acceptability of a Mobile Phone and Pedometer-Based Physical Activity Program in a Diverse Sample of Sedentary Women’, Public Health Nursing29(3): 232–40.
26.
GongA.T.FurnhamA. (2014) ‘Mental Health Literacy: Public Knowledge and Beliefs about Mental Disorders in Mainland China’, PsyCh Journal3(2): 144–58.
27.
GustafsonD.H.McTavishF.M.ChihM.-Y.AtwoodA.K.JohnsonR.A.BoyleM.G.LevyM.S.DriscollH.ChisholmS.M.DillenburgL.IshamA.ShahD. (2014) ‘A Smartphone Application to Support Recovery from Alcoholism: A Randomized Clinical Trial’, JAMA Psychiatry71(5): 566–72.
28.
HarrisonV.ProudfootJ.WeeP.P.ParkerG.PavlovicD.H.ManicavasagarV. (2011) ‘Mobile Mental Health: Review of the Emerging Field and Proof of Concept Study’, Journal of Mental Health20(6): 509–24.
29.
HuangY.ZhaoN. (2020) ‘Mental Health Burden for the Public Affected by the COVID-19 Outbreak in China: Who Will Be the High-Risk Group?’Psychology, Health & Medicine26(1): 23–34.
IntilleS.S. (2004) ‘A New Research Challenge: Persuasive Technology to Motivate Healthy Aging’, IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine: A Publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society8(3): 235–7.
32.
JacobsonR.P.KangD.HouckJ. (2020) ‘Can Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System® (PROMIS) Measures Accurately Enhance Understanding of Acceptable Symptoms and Functioning in Primary Care?’, Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes4(1): 39.
JordanE.T.RayE.M.JohnsonP.EvansW.D. (2011) ‘Text4Baby: Using Text Messaging to Improve Maternal and Newborn Health’, Nursing for Women’s Health15(3): 206–12.
35.
KangR.DabbishL.A.SuttonK. (2016) ‘Strangers on Your Phone: Why People Use Anonymous Communication Applications’, Proceedings of the 19th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing – CSCW ’16, New York, 27 February, pp. 358–69. New York: ACM Press.
36.
LeeJ.Y.HarathiS. (2016) ‘Using mHealth in Social Work Practice with Low-Income Hispanic Patients’, Health & Social Work41(1): 60–3.
37.
LiX.StantonB.FangX.LinD. (2006) ‘Social Stigma and Mental Health among Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China: A Conceptual Framework and Future Research Needs’, World Health & Population8(3): 14–31.
38.
LiangD.MaysV.M.HwangW.-C. (2018) ‘Integrated Mental Health Services in China: Challenges and Planning for the Future’, Health Policy and Planning33(1): 107–22.
39.
LienY.-J.KaoY.-C.LiuY.-P.ChangH.-A.TzengN.-S.LuC.-W.LohC.-H. (2015) ‘Internalized Stigma and Stigma Resistance among Patients with Mental Illness in Han Chinese Population’, The Psychiatric Quarterly86(2): 181–97.
40.
LuxtonD.D.McCannR.A.BushN.E.MishkindM.C.RegerG.M. (2011) ‘mHealth for Mental Health: Integrating Smartphone Technology in Behavioral Healthcare’, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice42(6): 505–12.
41.
LvQ.JiangY.QiJ.ZhangY.ZhangX.FangL.TuL.YangM.LiaoZ.ZhaoM.GuoX.QiuM.GuJ.LinZ. (2019) ‘Using Mobile Apps for Health Management: A New Health Care Mode in China’, JMIR mHealth and uHealth7(6): e10299.
42.
MinerA.KuhnE.HoffmanJ.E.HoffmanJ.E.OwenJ.E.RuzekJ.I.TaylorC.B. (2016) ‘Feasibility, Acceptability, and Potential Efficacy of the PTSD Coach App: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial with Community Trauma Survivors’, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy8(3): 384–92.
43.
MontagueE.PerchonokJ. (2012) ‘Health and Wellness Technology Use by Historically Underserved Health Consumers: Systematic Review’, Journal of Medical Internet Research14(3): e78.
44.
MorrisM.E.AguileraA. (2012) ‘Mobile, Social, and Wearable Computing and the Evolution of Psychological Practice’, Professional Psychology, Research and Practice43(6): 622–6.
45.
Ndung’uE.M. (2019) ‘The Role of Mobile Phones in Social Work Service Delivery: A Kenyan Perspective’, in TwikirizeJ.M.SpitzerH. (eds) Social Work Practice in Africa: Indigenous and Innovative Approaches, pp. 229–43. Kampala, Uganda: Fountain Publishers.
46.
NiuD.HaugenH.Ø. (2018) ‘Social Workers in China: Professional Identity in the Making’, The British Journal of Social Work49: 1932–49.
47.
OlffM. (2015) ‘Mobile Mental Health: A Challenging Research Agenda’, European Journal of Psychotraumatology6: 27882.
48.
OllivierL.RomandO.MarimoutouC.MichelR.PognantC.TodescoA.MiglianiR.BaudonD.BoutinJ.-P. (2009) ‘Use of Short Message Service (SMS) to Improve Malaria Chemoprophylaxis Compliance after Returning from a Malaria Endemic Area’, Malaria Journal8: 236.
49.
PhamQ.WiljerD.CafazzoJ.A. (2016) ‘Beyond the Randomized Controlled Trial: A Review of Alternatives in mHealth Clinical Trial Methods’, JMIR mHealth and uHealth4(3): e107.
50.
PhillipsM.R.ZhangJ.ShiQ.SongZ.DingZ.PangS.LiX.ZhangY.WangZ. (2009) ‘Prevalence, Treatment, and Associated Disability of Mental Disorders in Four Provinces in China during 2001-05: An Epidemiological Survey’, The Lancet373(9680): 2041–53.
51.
PuccioJ.A.BelzerM.OlsonJ.MartinezM.SalataC.TuckerD.TanakaD. (2006) ‘The Use of Cell Phone Reminder Calls for Assisting HIV-Infected Adolescents and Young Adults to Adhere to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy: A Pilot Study’, AIDS Patient Care and STDS20(6): 438–44.
RaoV. (2013) ‘A Framework for Evaluating Behavior Change Interventions through Gaming’, in ReidsmaD.KatayoseH.NijholtA. (eds) Advances in Computer Entertainment: 10th International Conference, ACE 2013, Boekelo, The Netherlands, November 12–15, 2013. Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pp. 368–79. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
54.
RatzliffA.PhillipsK.E.SugarmanJ.R.UnützerJ.WagnerE.H. (2017) ‘Practical Approaches for Achieving Integrated Behavioral Health Care in Primary Care Settings’, American Journal of Medical Quality32(2): 117–21.
55.
RoepkeA.M.JaffeeS.R.RiffleO.M.McGonigalJ.BroomeR.MaxwellB. (2015) ‘Randomized Controlled Trial of SuperBetter, a Smartphone-Based/Internet-Based Self-Help Tool to Reduce Depressive Symptoms’, Games for Health Journal4(3): 235–46.
56.
SamaP.R.EapenZ.J.WeinfurtK.P.ShahB.R.SchulmanK.A. (2014) ‘An Evaluation of Mobile Health Application Tools’, JMIR mHealth and uHealth2(2): e19.
57.
SchoechD.BoyasJ.F.BlackB.M.Elias-LambertN. (2013) ‘Gamification for Behavior Change: Lessons from Developing a Social, Multiuser, Web-Tablet Based Prevention Game for Youths’, Journal of Technology in Human Services31(3): 197–217.
58.
SekoY.KiddS.WiljerD.McKenzieK. (2014) ‘Youth Mental Health Interventions via Mobile Phones: A Scoping Review’, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking17(9): 591–602.
59.
ShangJ.WeiS.JinJ.ZhangP. (2019) ‘Mental Health Apps in China: Analysis and Quality Assessment’, JMIR mHealth and uHealth7(11): e13236.
60.
ShenY.-C.ZhangM.-Y.HuangY.-Q.HeY.-L.LiuZ.-R.ChengH.TsangA.LeeS.KesslerR.C. (2006) ‘Twelve-Month Prevalence, Severity, and Unmet Need for Treatment of Mental Disorders in Metropolitan China’, Psychological Medicine36(2): 257–67.
TorousJ.B.ChanS.R.YellowleesP.M.BolandR. (2016) ‘To Use or Not? Evaluating ASPECTS of Smartphone Apps and Mobile Technology for Clinical Care in Psychiatry’, The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry77(6): e734–8.
VázquezM.Y.G.SextoC.F.RochaA.AguileraA. (2016) ‘Mobile phones and psychosocial therapies with vulnerable people: A first state of the art’, Journal of Medical Systems40(6): 157.
68.
WongD.F.K.LiJ.C.M. (2014) ‘Cultural Influence on Shanghai Chinese People’s Help-Seeking for Mental Health Problems: Implications for Social Work Practice’, The British Journal of Social Work44(4): 868–85.
69.
WongD.F.K.ZhuangX.Y.PanJ.-Y.HeX.S. (2014) ‘A Critical Review of Mental Health and Mental Health-Related Policies in China: More Actions Required’, International Journal of Social Welfare23(2): 195–204.
XiangY.NgC. H.YuX.WangG (2018) ‘Rethinking progress and challenges of mental health care in China’, World Psychiatry17(2): 231–232.
72.
XuZ.HuangF.KöstersM.RüschN. (2017) ‘Challenging Mental Health Related Stigma in China: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. II. Interventions among People with Mental Illness’, Psychiatry Research255: 457–64.
73.
ZapataB.C.Fernández-AlemánJ.L.IdriA.TovalA. (2015) ‘Empirical Studies on Usability of mHealth Apps: A Systematic Literature Review’, Journal of Medical Systems39(2): 1.
