Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, mental health and mental illness have received increased attention across the globe. The mental health burden of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated policies and public health effects as well as the impact of climate change and uncertainty on mental health are two recent examples. At the same time, the availability and accessibility of digital health interventions (DHI), online resources (e.g., digital support groups, online psychotherapy, online self-help interventions), and supportive technologies (e.g., mobile apps, virtual reality, monitoring systems) have also increased, presenting a unique opportunity to address inequi­ties; provide additional, tailored support to deal with mental health problems; and close gaps in mental health service provision and utilization.

While there is promising evidence regarding the efficacy and scalability of DHI and other digital tools for mental health and well-being, many questions remain—for example, the challenges of DHI and other digital tools regarding structural barriers and equity (e.g., reach, costs, and maintenance), skills (e.g., digital health literacy in providers and users), human factors (e.g., trust, usability, data security issues), unintended effects (e.g., at-risk use of digital technologies), and the assessment and conceptualization of the overall public health and environmental impact. Moreover, research is needed in vulnerable groups (e.g., children and adolescents, older people, and deprived communities) and with a focus on positive mental health (e.g., building resiliency, mindfulness, or optimism) in addition to the DHI impact on mental stress and illness symptoms.

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) invites contributions on all of these topics that summarize or challenge the current state of knowledge, advance our understanding of the role and impact of DHI and other digital tools in mental health and well-being from a public health perspective, and provide novel insights into new develop­ments, methods, concepts, outcomes, or technologies in this area. Submissions from under­re­pre­sented communities, such as LMICs or indigenous populations, are especially welcome. Papers are ex­pec­ted to adhere to high academic standards (e.g., following EQUATOR network guidelines) and ideally adhering to Open Science principles (e.g., Open Data; see IJERPH instructions for authors).

Prof. Dr. Samuel Tomczyk
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• digital health
• digital well-being
• public mental health
• positive mental health
• health behavior change
• prevention
• health promotion
• mental illness
• digital literacy
• digital divide