Perret S, Alon N, Carpenter-Song E, Myrick K, Thompson K, Li S, Sharma K, Torous J. Standardising the role of a digital navigator in behavioural health: a systematic review. Lancet Digit Health. 2023;5(12):e925-e932. doi:10.1016/S2589-7500(23)00152-8
This review focuses on the current state and future directions of the digital navigator role in app-delivered behavioral health interventions. The authors reviewed 48 articles and found a lack of consistency between the types of responsibilities, education level, and communication strategies employed by digital navigators. Generally, four categories of primary responsibilities were distinguishable for digital navigators: access, engagement, technology support, and feedback. The most frequent responsibilities were engagement support (n = 35, 73%) and technology support (n = 20, 50%). Most (n = 28, 58%) digital navigators were assigned more than one type of responsibility i.e., connecting patients to care (access) and making health recommendations based on app usage (feedback). The individuals using the apps contacted their digital navigator on average at least once a week (n = 20, 42%) which they did via in-app messages or text messages (n = 26, 54%), telephone calls (n = 22, 23%), in person (n =11, 23%), or videoconference (n = 5, 10%). Digital interventions using digital navigators showed, using limited data, improvements in depression (effect size: 0.31-1.59) and anxiety (effect size: 0.30-1.54) scores following app usage. These promising outcomes further emphasize the need to develop clarity and consistency for the digital navigator role. Consistency within the responsibilities and training for digital navigator roles will allow for more strategic hiring based on specific needs (i.e., most digital navigators hold a graduate-level degree or higher (n = 20, 42%) which may be unnecessary when digital navigators do not need to provide therapy). Clarifying the necessary licensure, training procedures, daily responsibilities, and methods of communication will push the role of the digital navigator and the useability of digital health apps forward.