According to the MHFAengland (Mental Health First Aid England) 1 in 4 people experience mental health issues each year and mental health is the single largest source of burden of disease in the UK. Around 70-75% of people with diagnosable mental illness receive no treatment at all. This potentially offers an interesting opportunity for digital health solutions, such as mobile health applications.

To explore this opportunity, ORCHA has reviewed more than 350 of the market’s most downloaded, Level 4 Mental Health apps, looking at more than 226 criteria across three main components: Data Security (DS), Clinical Assurance (CA) and User Experience (UX).

To reveal the results, we’ve plotted their results in a 3D chart.

This reveals 3 key takeaways:

1.       Amongst the apps that scored above our quality threshold (65%), there were three (Red Circle) that scored exceptionally high which were Wysa, Brain in Hand and Sleepio. Wysa is also currently the highest scoring App on ORCHA’s appfinder across all health conditions, with a score of 93%.

2.       The App circled in blue (DGT Onderweg) is interesting as it scored similarly to some apps above our quality threshold, with the exception of a particularly poor score for Data Security. Similarly, in the Purple circle there are multiple apps that straddle the 65% boundary, indicating that a small change to any of the three domains could push them above the threshold.

3.      119 of the Apps were Green, 117 were Amber and 119 were Red, indicating an almost perfect split between the three bands. The biggest area where these Apps could improve is Clinical Assurance.

To explore our 3D chart, click here.
Or to read our mental health app reviews, follow this link.

Suicide is the biggest killer of under 35s in the UK, making charities like Papyrus vitally important. Papyrus is a national charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide. ORCHA has provided Papyrus with their own digital microsite, an online platform that helps young people to manage their mental health.

Papyrus want young people to be able to access information to support them with their suicidal thoughts, and use apps that are safe and secure. Without access to ORCHA’s App Library via Papyrus’ microsite, young people are at risk of downloading apps that could have a negative impact on their health or encourage suicidal behaviour. ORCHA reviews apps according to their clinical effectiveness, data privacy and user experience, ensuring that users will be able to distinguish between safe and unsafe apps, unlike on unregulated app stores.

Watch our video above, where Papyrus discusses how ORCHA’s provision of a digital health tool allows their advisors to recommend apps to the young people directly, thereby providing vulnerable young people with access to safe resources to help manage their health.

Men are less likely to access psychological therapies than women yet 3 out of 4 suicides are by men. Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust understands the impact living with a condition or receiving treatment can have on a person’s emotions. It provides specialist clinical health psychologist services as part of its condition-specific teams.

To advance how this support is delivered before, during and after discharge, the Trust has adopted the use of safe and tested apps. Hear Dr Jessica Dean, Renal Clinical Psychologist, explain the dangers of using untested health apps in mental health:

Mental health issues can affect anyone, regardless of age, background or gender. Awareness of mental health is becoming increasingly important as the number of people suffering from a mental health condition also increases.

Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 13^th to 19^th May, and this year focusses on the issue of Body Image. Whilst body image is not in itself a mental health condition, feeling uncomfortable with your body can decrease overall mental wellbeing, possibly leading to mental health concerns developing.

Why is mental health important when thinking about body image?

According to the Mental Health Foundation, “Research has found that higher body dissatisfaction is associated with a poorer quality of life, psychological distress and the risk of unhealthy eating behaviours and eating disorders.” Body image concerns are fairly common, with just over one third of adults saying they have felt anxious (34%) or depressed (35%) because of their body image (Mental Health Foundation, 2019). As such, it is important to increase awareness of how we can take care of the mental wellbeing of ourselves and others in terms of body image.

How can health apps help?

ORCHA has developed an extensive app library, including thousands of mental health apps, so that everyone can easily access the safest, most trustworthy and effective apps for their individual health needs. If you are struggling with body image concerns and feel that this is having a detrimental effect on your mental health, you might find the mental health apps listed below to be of help. These apps have been scored highly by ORCHA, according to Clinical Assurance, Data Privacy and User Experience. You can click on the name of the app to access its ORCHA Review.

‘MeeTwo’ for Stress and Anxiety: MeeTwo allows users to share their personal experiences safely and anonymously in order to access support and advice.

‘DistrACT’ for Self-Harm: distrACT provides easy, quick and discreet access to general health information and advice about self-harm.

‘Jourvie’ for Body Image: Jourvie supports people suffering from eating disorders, giving them a way of filling out food diaries and developing coping strategies.

This Mental Health Awareness Week, #BeBodyKind, to both yourself and others. You can find out more about the Awareness Week via the Mental Health Foundation’s campaign page here.

If you are concerned about your mental health and need help, click this link for resources that can help. You are not alone and help is available.

Image credit: A Research Guide.