Information and Communication Technologies in Behavioral Health: A Literature Review with Recommendations for the Air Force.

The dramatic evolution in information and communication technologies (ICTs) online and on smartphones has led to rapid innovations in behavioral health care. To assist the U.S. Air Force in developing a strategy for use of ICTs, the authors reviewed the scientific literature on their use to prevent and treat behavioral health conditions, such as major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and alcohol misuse. There is currently little scientific evidence supporting additional investment in ICT-based psychosocial programs for resilience or prevention of posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, or anxiety. Instead, preventive interventions might prioritize problems of alcohol misuse and intimate partner violence. ICT applications that play a role in the treatment process may be used for patient education and activation, to improve decisionmaking by clinicians, to provide a therapy, to improve adherence to treatment, or to maintain treatment gains over time. However, partly due to the rapid pace of development of the technology, there is little or no evidence in the literature regarding the efficacy of the most recently developed types of ICTs, in particular those using smartphones. Despite the lack of solid research evidence to date, ICTs hold promise in addressing the challenges of mental health care. One promising avenue is development of reliable methods for patient-clinician communication between therapy sessions; another is Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy. The authors recommend that the Air Force should take an incremental approach to adopting the use of ICTs-one that involves a program of measurement-based implementation and process and outcome monitoring rather than urgent dissemination.