title: How Google's 'ten Things We Know To Be True' could guide the development of mental health mobile apps.
abstract: From 2011 to 2030, mental health conditions are projected to cost the global economy $16 trillion through lost labor and capital output. The gold standard of psychological interventions, one-on-one therapy, is too costly and too labor-intensive to keep up with the projected growth in demand for mental health services. Therefore, new solutions are needed to improve the efficiency of mental health care delivery and to increase patient self-care. Because 85 percent of the world's population has wireless signal coverage, there is an unprecedented opportunity for mobile technologies to incorporate psychological self-care into people's daily lives and relieve workforce shortages. In this article, we suggest that policy makers look to technology innovators for guidance. For example, Google's principles, called "Ten Things We Know To Be True," are useful for understanding the drivers of success in mobile technologies. For principles such as "focus on the user and all else will follow," we identify examples of how evidence-based mobile mental health technologies could increase patient self-care and reduce the demand for one-on-one psychological intervention.
authors.affiliation: Sarah P. Jones (s.jones12@imperial.ac.uk) is a fellow of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), Qatar Foundation, and a research associate in mental health technologies at the Centre for Health Policy, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, in the United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sarah P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Vikram Patel is cochair of the Mental Health Forum at WISH and a professor of international mental health and a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow in clinical science at the Centre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in the United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Vikram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Shekhar Saxena is cochair of the Mental Health Forum at WISH and director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization, in Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Shekhar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.affiliation: Naomi Radcliffe is the forum fellow of the Mental Health Forum at WISH and a policy fellow in patient safety at the Centre for Health Policy, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Radcliffe
authors.affiliation: Salih Ali Al-Marri is assistant secretary general for medical affairs in the Supreme Council of Health, in Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Salih
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ali Al-Marri
authors.affiliation: Ara Darzi is executive chair of WISH, Qatar Foundation, and director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London.
authors.forename: Ara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Darzi
mesh_terms: D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D063731:Mobile Applications; D057386:Search Engine; D012648:Self Care
keywords: Evidence-Based Medicine; Health Spending; Information Technology; Medical technology; Mental Health/Substance Abuse