The DID-guide: A guide to developing digital mental health interventions

Internet Interventions, vol. 39, pp. 100794

Abstract

The opportunities technology offers for improving mental health have led to a surge in digital interventions. A pivotal step in the development of such interventions involves translating theoretical intervention techniques into specific technological features. However, practical guidelines on how to approach this translation are currently underdeveloped. To support efforts to develop digital mental health interventions, from theoretical inception to an actual digital intervention, we present the Digital Intervention Development Guide (DID-Guide). The DID-Guide is structured into two distinct phases. Phase 1 establishes the intervention's theoretical foundation, outlining the steps for developing a theoretical intervention framework. Phase 2 translates this theoretical framework into actionable technological features, that make up the intervention. We break down the DID-Guide's two phases into a series of actionable steps, accompanied by concrete examples from a recent intervention that can be delivered through both a smartphone app and Virtual Reality. The DID-Guide serves as a comprehensive resource for creating impactful digital mental health interventions, while also facilitating collaboration and communication among a diverse range of stakeholders, including researchers, clinicians, and software developers.

Authors 2

1. Esther C. A. Mertens corresponding

   Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law · Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Criminology, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Günterstalstrasse 73, 79100 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

   Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, De Boelelaan 1077, 1081HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands

2. J.-L. Van Gelder Aachen Institute of Education and Child Studies

   Leiden University · Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Criminology, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Günterstalstrasse 73, 79100 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

   Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333AK Leiden, the Netherlands