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Introduction: Digital mental health is a promising solution to support people with severe mental health problems (SMI) in China. However, little is known about the ownership rate of digital technologies and attitudes towards utilising digital health technologies (DHTs) among people with SMI in the Chinese context. The aims of this study were to understand: (i) digital technology ownership and usage rate of people with SMI in China; (ii) attitudes toward DHTs in mental health services; and (iii) how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced views on digital mental health. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was given to outpatients with SMI using the REDCap platform. To capture a diverse sample of people with SMI, the survey was distributed across psychiatric hospitals, general hospitals with a psychiatric unit, secondary hospitals, and community healthcare centres. Results: In total, 447 survey respondents completed the survey. Relative high ownership rates of digital technologies were found, with smartphone ownership (95.5%) and access to the internet (82.1%) being the highest technologies reported. However, less than half of respondents reported frequent health-related usage of digital technologies, which may be related to the lack of knowledge in using DHTs. Most respondents found DHTs being useful for access to mental health services during the pandemic and were willing to use DHTs after the pandemic. Discussion: Our data suggest that, despite the high ownership rate of digital technologies, training programmes to improve digital health literacy for people with SMI in China are necessary to realise the full potential of digital mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health problems are highly prevalent in China; however, China's mental health services lack resources to deliver high-quality care to people in need. Digital mental health is a promising solution to this short-fall in view of the population's digital literacy. In this review, we aim to: (i) investigate the effectiveness, acceptability, usability, and safety of digital health technologies (DHTs) for people with mental health problems in China; (ii) critically appraise the literature; and (iii) make recommendations for future research directions. The databases MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Web of Science, CNKI, WANFANG, and VIP were systemically searched for English and Chinese language articles evaluating DHTs for people with mental health problems in mainland China. Eligible studies were systematically reviewed. The heterogeneity of studies included precluded a meta-analysis. In total, 39 articles were retrieved, reporting on 32 DHTs for various mental health problems. Compared with the digital mental health field in the West, the Chinese studies targeted schizophrenia and substance use disorder more often and investigated social anxiety mediated by shame and culturally specific variants, DHTs were rarely developed in a co-production approach, and methodology quality was less rigorous. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review focused on digital mental health in the Chinese context including studies published in both English and the Chinese language. DHTs were acceptable and usable among Chinese people with mental health problems in general, similar to findings from the West. Due to heterogeneity across studies and a paucity of robust control trial research, conclusions about the efficacy of DHTs are lacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]