Facilitating use of mobile health in mental health care: Perspectives of patient, caregiver and provider in Nigeria

TL;DR

This study explores how patients, caregivers, and providers in Nigeria view the use of mobile health tools to improve mental health care access and continuity.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into user perspectives on mHealth in mental health care within a Nigerian primary care context.

Findings

Participants identified phone calls, SMS reminders, and audiovisual content as key facilitators for engagement and adherence.

Caregivers valued direct communication with providers, while healthcare workers used mobile tools for reminders and patient education.

Flexible use of next-of-kin contacts helped overcome digital barriers in mental health care delivery.

Abstract

Mobile health (mHealth) interventions offer promising ways to enhance access and continuity of mental health services in low-resource settings. However, little is known about the perspective of end users in routine primary care in Nigeria regarding the role of mHealth in mental health care. This qualitative study explored the perspectives of patients, caregivers and healthcare providers on the use of mHealth tools to support access to and continuity of mental health care in Nigeria. Seventeen participants, including persons with lived experience of depression (n=7), caregivers (n=3), and primary healthcare workers (n=7), were purposively recruited from nine primary health clinics in Ibadan. Interviews were conducted in Yoruba, transcribed, translated into English, and analysed inductively using NVivo 15. Participants identified phone calls, Short Message Service (SMS) reminders, and audiovisual content as key facilitators of engagement, self-care and adherence. Caregivers valued direct communication with providers, while healthcare workers used mobile tools for reminders, follow-up and patient education. Flexible use of next-of-kin contacts helped overcome digital barriers. The findings demonstrate that user-friendly mHealth tools are feasible for supporting mental health care in Nigeria, but their success depends on coupling technology with human-centred communication to ensure equitable and continuous care.

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