Design and Evaluation of Culturally Responsive Digital Mental Health Technology for Racial-Ethnic Minorities
Abstract
Mental health disparities for racial-ethnic minorities are a significant concern due to barriers to access, cost, and adequate mental health care. Digital mental health technology holds promise for alleviating these barriers; however, these solutions often lack the cultural responsiveness that is necessary to meet the specific needs of these communities. This dissertation examines the presence of cultural responsiveness in digital mental health solutions for three different racial-ethnic minority groups. Through four research studies, I explore the ways in which social determinants of health impact how racial-ethnic minorities engage and seek digital mental health support, provide evidence of how community-based research is beneficial for ideating and designing for cultural responsiveness, and emphasize the ways researchers can design accessible, scalable, and inclusive digital mental health solutions. To highlight the various levels of influence contributing to mental health disparities and how they impact the design of digital mental health technology, I analyze each study using the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities research framework and discuss how to use this framework to implement culturally responsive design for mental health technologies. Drawing from these findings, I discuss the overarching themes: 1) health-seeking behaviors of racial-ethnic minorities; 2) means of mental healthcare access through technology; 3) research to implementation practices, and 4) implications for design to argue why culturally responsive design is necessary for mental health technologies. Overall, these studies show that designing culturally responsive mental health solutions should be implemented to help reduce mental health disparities for racial-ethnic minority populations and the possible ways it can be accomplished. The findings highlight the importance of designing solutions that consider the unique needs and challenges of diverse communities to ensure increased access and appropriate support.