Digital Mental Health Interventions for Aged Adults With Psychiatric Conditions

With the accelerating global aging process, the prevalence of mental disorders among older adults is rising steadily. However, traditional mental health services for these patients have notable drawbacks, including persistently limited accessibility due to mobility limitations and dispersed residential areas, as well as social stigma linked to in-person care, which reduces many older adults’ willingness to seek help proactively.Digital mental health tools have emerged as a viable solution. They can break time and space barriers to deliver convenient remote care, provide personalized interventions tailored to individual health profiles, and enable real-time symptom tracking to support more targeted and timely services. However, key challenges in digital mental health remain. First and foremost is uneven digital literacy, especially among the oldest old and older adults with lower educational backgrounds. In addition, existing tools are often insufficiently adapted to older adults’ unique physiological and cognitive characteristics. Finally, there is a lack of large-sample, long-term, high-quality clinical evidence supporting the long-term effectiveness, safety, and acceptability of these tools.This Research Topic aims to advance the development, evaluation, and implementation of digital mental health interventions tailored to older adults with psychiatric conditions. We seek to address key gaps by assessing the clinical effectiveness and safety of digital tools for diverse geriatric psychiatric disorders; optimizing intervention design to overcome age-related barriers (e.g., low digital literacy, sensory impairments); exploring strategies to enhance adherence and engagement among older users; and bridging the digital divide through community and clinical support. Additionally, this Topic intends to synthesize evidence on best practices for integrating digital interventions into routine geriatric mental health care, inform guidelines for developers and clinicians, and ultimately improve access to high-quality, person-centered mental health support for older adults worldwide.This Research Topic focuses on digital mental health solutions tailored to older adults with psychiatric conditions. Contributors may address themes including the clinical effectiveness of digital tools across geriatric disorders; user-centered design adaptations for age-related barriers (e.g., low literacy, sensory needs); strategies to boost adherence and engagement; and approaches to integrating digital interventions into routine care. We welcome original research, systematic reviews, methodological papers, and case studies that provide empirical evidence or practical, scalable insights. Manuscripts should prioritize real-world applicability and center the unique needs of this vulnerable group. Topic editors: Thomas Kwok Shing WONG, Sinan Chen, Zezhi Li Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77861/digital-mental-health-interventions-for-aged-adults-with-psychiatric-conditions