Bengaluru: Mental health experts emphasised the need for a full-fledged department or centre for applied research on digital mental health applications at a three-day meeting that was convened at Nimhans and concluded Friday.The meeting on Digital Technologies for Mental Health: Evolving Policy and Regulatory Recommendations for Safe Use, was convened by Nimhans-ICMR Centre for Advanced Research (CAR) on Digital Interventions for Mental Health Care in collaboration with the SHUT Unit at Nimhans.One of the recommendations made by the CAR was a dedicated department/centre to generate implementation-focused evidence and support the integration of digital tools into training and care through public-private collaboration, while also focusing on real-world effectiveness, user safety and responsible use. Dr Mohan Isaac, clinical professor of psychiatry at University of Western Australia, reflecting on the recommendations, said, “I strongly hope the govt takes this forward.”Seconding this, Dr Prabha S Chandra, director of Nimhans, said, “It is time to establish departments of digital mental health and digital health in every organisation. This is now a specialty in itself and requires dedicated attention, and I believe this is the direction in which the future is heading.”Dr Prabha added while the focus of the conclave was on mental health apps, other aspects of the digital mental health ecosystem also had to be addressed. “I would urge CAR to treat this as one in a series of consultations, with each area requiring separate attention and recommendations in the context of mental health,” she said, adding that it is important to identify groups that are already working on this subject, learn from their work and build on existing efforts.
