As digital technologies weave their way into the fabric of mental health care, the ethical and social ramifications become ever more pressing. A new study by Jonathan Adams published in the latest issue of Digital Society sheds light on these critical issues through in-depth interviews with science and technology experts involved in developing digital mental health (DMH) interventions.
“As well as the rapid growth of DMH as a field, there are significant concerns about ethical and social implications that raise the importance of critically investigating its technologies,” Adams, the Oslo-based researcher, writes. “Due to the limited empirical work that has been devoted to experts’ perceptions of ethical and social implications of DMH technologies, this study’s primary research aims to address the following broad, exploratory research question: ‘How do science and technology experts working in DMH conceptualize the ethical and social implications of DMH technologies?’”
The study employs sociotechnical systems theory to unravel the intricate web of implications for users, healthcare professionals, and society. The experts highlighted issues such as privacy, data security, potential biases, and the risk of exacerbating existing inequities, raising urgent questions about the responsibilities and power dynamics within these systems. This finding calls for a more nuanced and critical examination of how digital mental health technologies are designed, implemented, and integrated into mental health care, ensuring that ethical considerations are at the forefront of their development and deployment.
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