Connecting Patients and Clinicians: Shedding Light on Functionalities for Mental Health Apps in Depression Care

This paper evaluates the functionalities of mental health apps by developing and testing a smartphone application focusing on depression. This article follows a design science research approach, reviewing existing literature and app functionalities to identify essential functionalities for mental health care apps. The application integrates the PHQ-9 questionnaire and supports passive data collection for activity levels. The app provides real-time feedback and monitoring to patients and data access to their treating clinician. We evaluated usability and functionality with potential end users and healthcare professionals. The results show high usability scores and highlight the importance of features such as in-app access to emergency services, self-monitoring tools, and progress tracking. Our findings indicate a strong preference for functionalities that support active engagement and immediate access to support in crises.