Designing an interactive quality assurance process for digital mental health tools - Verified by Maudsley

随着心理健康数字工具的创建和使用迅速增长，用户和组织难以确定精心设计的、基于证据的干预措施，而高质量的产品难以脱颖而出。据估计，英国有20,000个与心理健康相关的智能手机应用程序(MedCity，2023)，以及许多SaaS平台、可穿戴设备和其他技术。我们正在构建一个质量评估工具(由Maudsley验证)，旨在针对数字心理健康产品提供工具标记、质量保证和开发领域，基于对NHS临床学术专业知识和精神健康问题的实际经验的彻底审查。目前还不存在这种类型的特定心理健康评估，这在数字MH工具创建者以及必须确保其质量的最终用户的市场上存在显著缺口。这个为期2个阶段、为期5个月的项目将汇集NHS、HEI、SME和Live Experience合作伙伴，为我们的工具提供全面、迭代、用户主导和系统感知的设计流程。用户和系统代表包括：*在心理健康问题和数字工具方面有亲身经历的人(数字MH工具的最终用户)*心理健康和数字工具的临床学者和主题专家(系统感知中介和用户)*人力资源、人员和健康经理，他们可能会采购工具(系统感知中介和用户)*生产数字心理健康工具的创建者、设计师和创新者(我们评估服务的用户)第一阶段将动员我们的协作设计专业知识，并吸引用户群体来开发我们的结构化评估框架，建立在我们现有的线框、反馈和知识产权的基础上。我们将与我们的用户群体一起完善框架的目的和概念，然后重点关注框架的内容、标准和用途。第二阶段将通过评估过程集中于框架的运作和实施，数字精神健康工具的所有者将通过评估过程取得进展。创建者、所有者、最终用户、购买者、主题和体验专家将一起帮助我们迭代构建评估过程，然后与我们自己的最终用户(工具所有者)和参与审查过程的人员(主题和体验专家)的早期采用者进行测试。该项目将提供一个独特的、创新的评估框架和过程，该框架和过程已准备好投放市场，并将与我们正在进行的商业化活动保持一致。这项工作有可能通过推动在整个部门提供高质量、可扩展的精神卫生服务，以及为终端用户、其家庭和社区带来实实在在的好处，从而产生重大的社会和经济效益。

As the creation and use of digital tools for mental health grows rapidly, users and organisations struggle to identify well-designed, evidence-based interventions, while high-quality products struggle to stand out. There are an estimated 20,000 mental health-related smartphone apps in the UK (MedCity, 2023), alongside many SaaS platforms, wearables and other technologies.We are building a quality assessment tool (Verified by Maudsley) aimed at digital mental health products that would provide a kitemark, assurance of quality, and areas for development, based on thorough review using NHS clinical-academic expertise and lived experience of mental health problems. No mental health-specific assessment of this type currently exists, a significant gap in the market for digital MH tool creators, as well as end users for whom quality must be ensured.This 2-phase 5-month project will bring together NHS, HEI, SME and lived experience partners to deliver a thorough, iterative, user-led and system-aware design process for our tool. Users and system representatives include:* People with lived experience of mental health problems and digital tools (end users of digital MH tools)* Clinical academics and subject matter experts in mental health and digital tools (system-aware intermediaries and users)* HR, People, and Wellbeing managers who may procure tools (system-aware intermediaries and users)* Creators, designers, and innovators who produce digital mental health tools (users of our assessment service)The first phase will mobilise our collaborative design expertise and engage user groups to develop our structured assessment framework, building on our existing wireframing, feedback and IP. We will refine the purpose and conception of the framework with our user groups, before focusing on the framework content, criteria, and usage.Phase two will focus on operationalising and implementing the framework, through the assessment process that owners of digital mental health tools would progress through. Creators, owners, end users, purchasers, subject matter and lived experience experts will come together to help us to iteratively build the assessment process before testing it with early adopters from our own end users (tools owners) and those involved in the reviewing process (subject matter and lived experience experts).This project will deliver a unique, innovative assessment framework and process that is ready for market and will align with our ongoing commercialisation activities. This work has the potential to deliver major social and economic benefits by driving high-quality, scalable mental health provision across the sector, as well as tangible benefits to end users, their families and communities.