ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2024
Mobile Apps to Support Mental Health Response in Natural Disasters: Scoping Review.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevention of mental disorders after exposure to natural hazards: a meta-analysis.BMJ mental health · 2025Pooled it
- The Human-Canine Partnership in Animal-Assisted Crisis Response: A Welfare-Centered Perspective.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- An Evaluation of the Usability and Feasibility of the 50K4Life Mobile App for Delivering Walking Challenges to Public School Administrative Employees: Beta Testing Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Patterns of Digital Media Engagement During Wartime and Their Associations With Stress, Resilience, and Well-Being: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Support for the wellbeing of frontline healthcare workers should be incorporated in health emergency preparedness planning.Communications medicine · 2026Review
- Psychological resilience and disaster preparedness among parents of children with hearing impairments: a cross-sectional analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Strengthening healthcare system resilience: a comprehensive framework for tropical cyclone preparedness and response.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2025Review
- Mental health status of the European population and its determinants: A cross-national comparison study.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025Article
- Development of a Mobile App Game for Practicing Lung Exercises: Feasibility Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologies · 2025Article
- Weathering the Storm: Stress Management of Filipino First Responders Using the "Mi Salud" Stress Check App.Acta medica Philippina · 2025Article
- Climate change and mental health in India: a narrative review of vulnerabilities, impacts, and resilience pathways.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- Impact of Natural Disasters on Mental Health: Evidence and Implications.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDisasters are becoming more frequent due to the impact of extreme weather events attributed to climate change, causing loss of lives, property, and psychological trauma. Mental health response to disasters emphasizes prevention and mitigation, and mobile health (mHealth) apps have been used for mental health promotion and treatment. However, little is known about their use in the mental health components of disaster management.
objectiveThis scoping review was conducted to explore the use of mobile phone apps for mental health responses to natural disasters and to identify gaps in the literature.
methodsWe identified relevant keywords and subject headings and conducted comprehensive searches in 6 electronic databases. Studies in which participants were exposed to a man-made disaster were included if the sample also included some participants exposed to a natural hazard. Only full-text studies published in English were included. The initial titles and abstracts of the unique papers were screened by 2 independent review authors. Full texts of the selected papers that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed by the 2 independent reviewers. Data were extracted from each selected full-text paper and synthesized using a narrative approach based on the outcome measures, duration, frequency of use of the mobile phone apps, and the outcomes. This scoping review was reported according to the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews).
resultsOf the 1398 papers retrieved, 5 were included in this review. A total of 3 studies were conducted on participants exposed to psychological stress following a disaster while 2 were for disaster relief workers. The mobile phone apps for the interventions included Training for Life Skills, Sonoma Rises, Headspace, Psychological First Aid, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Behavioural Health Disaster Response Apps. The different studies assessed the effectiveness or efficacy of the mobile app, feasibility, acceptability, and characteristics of app use or predictors of use. Different measures were used to assess the effectiveness of the apps' use as either the primary or secondary outcome.
conclusionsA limited number of studies are exploring the use of mobile phone apps for mental health responses to disasters. The 5 studies included in this review showed promising results. Mobile apps have the potential to provide effective mental health support before, during, and after disasters. However, further research is needed to explore the potential of mobile phone apps in mental health responses to all hazards.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.