Can mental health apps be effective for depression, anxiety, and stress during a pandemic?

COVID-19 is poised to exacerbate the global mental health crisis because social isolation, unemployment, and economic recession are risk factors for negative mental health consequences Because the need for social distancing can make face-to-face services less accessible, people may turn to mental health apps as an accessible and inexpensive solution But are the claims about the efficacy of these apps supported by evidence? We identified 19 published articles on PubMed of peer-reviewed randomized clinical trials of mental health apps focused on stress, anxiety, and depression Despite some evidence for the effectiveness of mental health apps, it remains unclear how effective these apps are compared with standard of care Populations studied so far also lack diversity, making it difficult to generalize any benefits to racial minorities and low-income individuals-the very people who have been most negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and traditionally have higher barriers to mental health services Whereas apps are not a substitute for face-to-face therapy, further evidence is warranted, given their potential for delivering scalable, low-cost care to patients We call for regulatory oversight as a means to ensure mental health apps demonstrate safety and effectiveness prior to marketing (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement Clinical Impact Statement -Mental health apps are increasingly available to consumers/patients for depression, stress, and anxiety Early evidence suggests that those apps studied have a positive impact on these conditions, but further research and regulatory oversight is needed before apps should be recommended to patients (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)