Healthcare professionals’ perspectives and/or experiences of digital mental health tools in clinical practice: a systematic review and thematic synthesis

Background Mental health difficulties are highly prevalent worldwide. Digital mental health tools (DMHTs) have been developed to increase accessibility to mental healthcare for people who may struggle to access care due to cost, location or stigma. As the views of stakeholders are important in understanding the potential barriers to and facilitators of DMHT implementation, the aims of this review were to critically appraise and synthesise qualitative findings relating to the perceptions and/or experiences of healthcare professionals (HCPs) on the use of digital mental health tools in clinical practice. Method A systematic search of mixed-method and qualitative studies was performed using five databases. Eligible studies were quality-assessed. Data were analysed using inductive thematic synthesis. Results Fifteen studies were identified and reviewed. Four main themes (alongside eight subthemes) were developed from the data of 604 HCPs: 1) DMHTs should augment – not replace – face-to-face clinical care; 2) Considerations and caveats to use in clinical practice; 3) Using DMHTs to enhance clinical care; and 4) Perceived barriers and concerns. Conclusion HCPs strongly endorsed the view that DMHTs offer increased access to care, however, concerns about their therapeutic quality, risk management, and workload burden persist. Context-sensitive implementation and proper infrastructure are essential for successful integration into mental health services. Systematic review registration https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ , identifier CRD42020188879.