Global Digital Mental Health - A Workshop Report on Overcoming Disciplinary Borders

This report explores the integration of Information Systems (IS) research into global digital mental healthcare, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of this interdisciplinary approach. Global digital mental healthcare describes the role of technology in mental healthcare from a global perspective and its potential to close the mental health gap. Deepening the connection between IS and mental health research is particularly promising, especially in utilizing patient-generated data to enhance care quality, improve outcomes, and reduce costs. However, implementing digital mental health solutions on a global scale involves unique challenges, requiring collaboration across IS, medicine, psychology, economics, and other disciplines. We review the outcomes of an April 2024 workshop held at the European University Viadrina, organized by the co-minded research community. This event brought together IS and global mental health researchers to identify and address key challenges. The workshop featured presentations and discussions aimed at bridging disciplinary gaps and fostering innovative approaches to digital mental health. Our findings highlight the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in developing effective Digital Mental Health Technologies (DMHTs), which hold significant potential for addressing global mental health needs. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for ongoing collaboration and community-building to advance research in this critical area. Keywords: global health, digital health, mental health, transdisciplinary collaboration.