Advancing digital sensing in mental health research

Samir Akre; Darsol Seok; Christopher Douglas; Adrian Aguilera; Simona Carini; Jessilyn Dunn; Matthew Hotopf; David C Mohr; Alex A T Bui; Nelson B Freimer

doi:10.1038/s41746-024-01343-x

Advancing digital sensing in mental health research

NPJ Digit Med. 2024 Dec 18;7(1):362. doi: 10.1038/s41746-024-01343-x.

Authors

Samir Akre^{1

2}, Darsol Seok^{2

3}, Christopher Douglas^{2

4}, Adrian Aguilera^{5

6}, Simona Carini⁷, Jessilyn Dunn⁸, Matthew Hotopf⁹, David C Mohr¹⁰, Alex A T Bui^{1

2

11}, Nelson B Freimer^{12

13}

Affiliations

¹ Medical Informatics Home Area, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
² Depression Grand Challenge, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
³ Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, USA.
⁵ School of Social Welfare, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁷ Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁸ Biomedical Engineering Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
⁹ Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
¹⁰ Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies, Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
¹¹ Medical & Imaging Informatics Group, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
¹² Depression Grand Challenge, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. [email protected].
¹³ Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. [email protected].

Abstract

Digital sensing tools, like smartphones and wearables, offer transformative potential for mental health research by enabling scalable, longitudinal data collection. Realizing this promise requires overcoming significant challenges including limited data standards, underpowered studies, and a disconnect between research aims and community needs. This report, based on the 2023 Workshop on Advancing Digital Sensing Tools for Mental Health, articulates strategies to address these challenges to ensure rigorous, equitable, and impactful research.

Publication types

Review