Bridging the Digital Divide in Mental Health: An Innovation Diffusion-Based Framework for Advancing Digital Literacy among Professionals

Abstract

The heightened prominence of digital literacy, as emphasized in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), signifies a collective effort to address the pressing need for reducing the digital divide. Digital literacy involves adept utilization of information and communication technologies, encompassing both technical expertise and cognitive skills. This research focuses on identifying optimal conceptual approaches and measurement standards for digital literacy, concurrently developing an evidence-based tool to elucidate the essential digital literacy prerequisites for mental health professionals advocating mobile mental health applications. The study draws theoretical inspiration from the Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), guiding the formulation of a foundational framework for digital literacy prerequisites among mental health professionals and the strategic crafting of diffusion strategies. The methodological approach entails a meticulous literature review, with a specific emphasis on the Google Scholar database, to identify best practices for evaluating digital literacy among mental health professionals. Four frameworks were deliberately chosen for comprehensive analysis, unraveling associated methodologies and measurement standards. The insights derived from this analysis inform the development of an evaluation framework aligned with the five stages of the Innovation Diffusion Theory: awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and adoption. The G20 Digital Literacy simplified model, among the selected frameworks, serves as the cornerstone for the developed evaluation framework. This model intricately delineates the digital literacy and competencies required for mental health professionals at various stages of endorsing mobile mental health applications. Importantly, it adopts a professional-centric model, deviating from conventional approaches, providing a unique perspective on the pivotal role professionals play in propagating and endorsing digital applications.