ReviewDigital health
A review of systematic reviews for evidence on use of mobile applications for mental disorders, including substance use disorders, in low and middle-income countries.
Review in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Therapeutic Interventions Targeted at Problematic Use of Digital Technology: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Evidence.JMIR mental health · 2026Pooled it
- Modifying implementation strategies for integration of screening and management of mental disorders, including substance use disorders into other NCD care in Faridabad, Haryana as part of ICMR-MINDS project.Frontiers in public health · 2026Trial
- Connected Care: Challenges and Potential of Digital Interventions in Substance Use Disorder - a Narrative Review.Substance abuse and rehabilitation · 2026Review
- Proposing a case for integration of screening and management of mental disorders, including substance use disorders with other non-communicable disease care: a prologue to the ICMR-MINDS project in Faridabad district of Haryana.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background and objectives: There is an increased burden of mental disorders, including substance use disorders (MSUD) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Digital technology offers a viable avenue to scale up the services for MSUD in such settings. This review aims to synthesize existing evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the use of mobile applications for mental disorders, including substance use disorders in LMICs. Methods: A comprehensive search for review articles and meta-analyses was conducted in January 2025 and encompassed all relevant studies published until then using the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, and Embase. Rayyan software was employed to remove duplicates. Data extraction included information such as publication date, title, author, country, number of participants, study design, data collection procedures, instruments/tools used, the profile of healthcare workers, the profile of patients, name of the mobile application, use of the mobile application and privacy policy. Evaluation of risk of bias and quality assessment for the included studies was carried out using the Cochrane tool for assessing risk of bias RoB 2, ROBINS-I for nonrandomized studies, and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The quality of the included systematic reviews was assessed using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews. Results: Twenty-three individual studies that met the eligibility criteria were included in the review. The effectiveness of mobile applications for mental health in LMICs varied significantly across studies. Despite the high burden of substance use disorders in LMICs, only a few studies evaluated mobile applications targeting substance use disorders. While mobile applications offer numerous advantages, significant barriers to widespread implementation remain. Conclusions: The findings of this review have significant implications for future research, policy, and practice. Given the potential of mobile applications to improve mental health care in LMICs, efforts should focus on enhancing their cultural relevance, usability, and long-term effectiveness.
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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.