Digital interventions often face challenges in their translation from the lab to complex, real-world healthcare environments. Understanding the context where digital interventions are to be used is a central, but often overlooked part in digital intervention development.
The novel study from Aalto University investigates how mental health professionals use digital tools in their clinical practice to facilitate digital intervention implementation.
The study reveals how clinicians use digital tools for communicating with their clients, diagnosing and evaluating them, and creating therapeutic change. Moreover, the clinicians used both analog, digitized, and digital tools to achieve these aims. Examining the tools across these categories, the study revealed:
- Heterogeneity in tool use. The digital tool use was varied. Some clinicians used a range of different tools, while others focused exclusively on face-to-face interactions.
- Clinicians’ autonomy. Such variance was facilitated by the clinicians’ autonomy to choose the tools used, and their diverse working contexts.
- Incremental improvements. Digital tools used provided only incremental improvements to clinician productivity suggesting that structural changes may be required to improve health care performance.
Overall, the new study provides a comprehensive outlook on how clinicians view and use digital tools in their practice. This insight contributes to ensuring digital interventions can fit this healthcare context and existing practices.
Read more here: https://doi.org/10.2196/44681
Reference
Lukka, L., Karhulahti, V. M., & Palva, J. M. (2023). Factors Affecting Digital Tool Use in Client Interaction According to Mental Health Professionals: Interview Study. JMIR Human Factors, 10:e44681. https://doi.org/10.2196/44681