Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6826-3352

Date of Award

Spring 5-7-2025

Document Type

Thesis (Master's)

Department or Program

Engineering Sciences

First Advisor

Elizabeth L. Murnane

Second Advisor

James Mahoney

Third Advisor

Eugene Santos Jr.

Abstract

This thesis tackles the challenges of designing effective, scalable digital mental health care solutions by integrating psychological research with human-computer interaction (HCI) principles. An exploration of self-care technologies (SCTs) for mental health is conducted to highlight challenges to comparative analysis, like fragmented research outcomes. Two research questions are posed to investigate how mental health interventions can be designed to be effective and overcome practical challenges to implementation. A theoretical framework in clinical psychology is adapted to bridge the gap between psychology and HCI. A methodology for conducting standardized, structured comparative analysis of mental health interventions is identified. The identified method is used to demonstrate the study of a conventional in-person social anxiety intervention. This study is followed by an analysis of a corresponding, digitized social anxiety intervention, highlighting how interventions can change through digitization.

Further, the influence of intervening third variables is observed, and plausible solutions to implementation challenges are suggested. The discussion further illustrates the importance of HCI principles in improving the utilization of interventions through user engagement and provides theoretical grounding for incorporating principles into interventions.

A replicable model for designing future mental health interventions is presented, and offers actionable steps to close the gap between theoretical promise and real-world impact in digital mental health care. A website-based tool is created to facilitate data collection and allow data to be queried post-analysis. This work provides a structure for conducting future investigations of digital health technologies. This dissertation concludes that a first-principles approach can improve mental health care interventions and support targeted development of precise solutions through digital health tools.

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