Effectiveness of e-mental health approaches: rapid review

The purpose of this rapid review is to provide current evidence on e-mental health approaches in responding to mild to moderate mental health issues (particularly depression and anxiety). Specific objectives are outlined below.

1. What e-mental health approaches have proven effective in responding to mild to moderate mental health issues and substance use problems (including approaches to reduce symptoms and impacts of existing mental health problems, and approaches to promote and enhance resilience)?
2. What is the current best practice internationally in evaluating and monitoring the use of e-therapytools (including platforms and portals)?
3. What is the evidence of effectiveness of e-mental health for specific population groups (e.g., children, youth and emerging adults, indigenous populations (in particular Māori and Pacific youth if available) and prisoners?
4. What are the gaps in evidence where testing through a pilot may contribute to building an evidence base?

This rapid review was based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses identified via the Ministry of Health’s database searches, and an existing rapid review published by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (Wozney et al., 2017). Brief literature scans were also undertaken to identify recent studies for population specific groups.