Design of a digital mental health tool to promote auto-diagnosis and professional help seeking for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Case study: Ndera Neuropsychiatric Teaching Hospital & Rwandan Organization of Trauma Counsellors

Abstract

Creativity and technology are reshaping human life across sectors like finance, communication, education, and healthcare. In Rwanda's healthcare, technology aids in teleconsultation, in nursing robotics, and in telemental health. Yet, mental health diagnosis and treatment in Rwanda mostly use paper-based tools, with few digital options mostly for research. This study has been performed to promote auto-diagnosis and professional help seeking for PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a significant mental health issue in Rwanda by developing a PTSD digital tool. This study employed a quantitative methodology and adopted a cross-sectional design. Mental health professionals comprised the study population, and data were gathered from a convenience sample of 100 professionals via a self-administered questionnaire. SPSS version 27 was utilized for data analysis. Descriptive analysis identified challenges among mental health providers using paper tools for PTSD diagnosis and treatment. Correlation analysis assessed how socio-demographics relate to using PTSD digital tools for trauma healing. The findings showed that 34.2% of participants strongly agreed, while 49.5% expressed their agreement with the notion that PTSD paper-based tool could be easily stolen. 43.9% reported that PTSD paper-based tool could be damaged and raised also the issue of confidentiality. Regarding a digital tool for PTSD, the majority (72.1%) strongly agreed that it ensures patient confidentiality, and 71.2% strongly agreed that it can address stigma associated with mental health conditions like PTSD. The results of the correlation analysis revealed a noteworthy negative relationship between age and the use of the PTSD digital tool (r=-.202*, p= 0.047) and a significant positive association between the amount of experience in the field of mental health and the utilization of the PTSD digital tool (r=-.210*, p=0.037). In conclusion, the design of a mental health digital tool to promote auto-diagnosis and professional help seeking for PTSD has the potential to significantly enhance the mental healthcare provided at NNTH and ARCT-Ruhuka. More efforts are need in sensitizing the adults above 35 years for using digital tools.