Table 3.
Aboriginal and Islander Mental Health Initiative for Youth (version 1.0) prioritization of app features for development.
| App features/Included | Not included owing to resource limitations; considered for next version | Justification | ||
| Therapeutic approach | ||||
|
|
Low-intensity culturally adapted CBTa intervention (evidence-based) | N/Ab | Gc, Ld, Ye, SPf | |
|
|
Stories and prompts to address anxiety and low mood | N/A | L, Y | |
| Activity types | ||||
|
|
Videos | N/A | L, Y | |
|
|
Mental health information with links to further information | N/A | G, L, Y, SP | |
|
|
Minigames to prompt relaxation and real-world activities | N/A | L, Y | |
|
|
Self-monitoring of personal goals | Self-monitoring of mood and behavior | L, Y, SP | |
| Engagement | ||||
|
|
Storytelling through characters | N/A | L, Y | |
|
|
Real-time engagement | N/A | L, Y, SP | |
|
|
Gamification (eg, levels and rewards) | N/A | L, Y | |
|
|
Progress and summary page | N/A | L, Y | |
|
|
Ability to complete a personalized quest—add names and photos throughout (customization) | Ability to customize characters and notifications and select voice or language settings | G, L, Y, SP |
|
|
|
N/A | Notifications to remind users of program benefits and encourage use | L, Y | |
| Interface and design | ||||
|
|
Simple and intuitive interface | N/A | G, L, Y, SP | |
|
|
Smooth, easy to use, accurate, and logical flow | N/A | G, L, Y | |
|
|
Aesthetic and minimalist design | N/A | G, L, Y, SP | |
|
|
Culturally relevant graphics tailored to target group | N/A | G, L, Y, SP | |
| Language | ||||
|
|
Simple, concrete, confident, hopeful, nonclinical, nonbiased language, and matched to the literacy level of users | N/A | G, L, Y, SP | |
|
|
Mechanisms to support literacy (eg, visual prompts and cues, use of metaphors, and minimal written content) | Mechanisms to support literacy (eg, audio of all app content) | L, Y, SP | |
|
|
Indigenous language words used within English text in line with stories | Full integration of multiple Indigenous languages throughout | L, Y | |
| Privacy | ||||
|
|
Up-to-date, available, and understandable privacy policy | N/A | G, L | |
|
|
N/A | Regularly monitored security | G, L | |
|
|
N/A | Password protection—optional | G, L, Y, SP | |
| Safety | ||||
|
|
Easily accessible links to crisis support | N/A | G, L, Y, SP | |
| Evidence and implementation | ||||
|
|
Experimental trials to examine efficacy | N/A | G, L | |
|
|
Analytics (use data) | N/A | G, L | |
|
|
N/A | The ability for users to provide feedback | G, L | |
|
|
N/A | Assessments embedded with prompts at different time points | G, L | |
| Accessibility | ||||
|
|
Compatible with mobile phone—currently only Android | Compatible with all platforms | G, L, Y, SP | |
|
|
Suitable for supported or self-driven use | N/A | L, SP | |
|
|
Offline use available | N/A | L, Y | |
|
|
N/A | Users made aware of data use | G | |
|
|
N/A | Multi-user tablet version | SP | |
aCBT: cognitive behavioral therapy.
bN/A: not applicable.
cG: guidelines.
dL: recommended in the literature.
eY: youth preference.
fSP: service provider preference.