Effects of mobile technology-based interventions in promoting mental health and psychosocial wellbeing among young people in low-and middle-income countries:a systematic review protocol

Objective: This review will aim to examine the effectiveness of mobile-based technologies among young people (10 to 24 years) in low- and middle-income countries in order to promote their mental health and psychosocial well-being. Such promotional interventions may be in the form of mobile technology–based education, information, or psychosocial counseling.Introduction: Young people in low- and middle-income countries have limited access to mental health services. Mobile-based technologies, such as remote consultations, telehealth, and smartphone applications, can offer improved access to mental health services; however, to the best of our knowledge, there are no systematic reviews of effectiveness on this topic.Inclusion criteria: Evidence sources from low- and middle-income countries involving mobile-based technologies for mental health and psychosocial support interventions for young people will be included. All experimental and observational studies published in English from 2010 to 2022 will be included.Methods: The review will follow JBI methodology for systematic reviews of effectiveness. Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), PsycINFO (ProQuest), AMED (Ovid), HMIC (Ovid) MEDLINE (PubMed), and Web of Science will be searched. Gray literature will be identified through Directory of Open Access Journals, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, EThOs, Asia eHealth Information Network, Google Scholar, and Grey Literature Report. Retrieved articles will be screened against the inclusion criteria, followed by an assessment by 2 independent reviewers for methodological quality using standardized JBI appraisal tools. Data extraction will be done using standardized JBI data extraction tools. Narrative synthesis will be preferred if meta-analysis is not feasible and certainty of evidence will be assessed using the GRADE approach.Systematic review registration number: PROSPERO CRD42022338749