Academic Journal

The 'Hot Potato' of Mental Health App Regulation: A Critical Case Study of the Australian Policy Arena

التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
العنوان: The 'Hot Potato' of Mental Health App Regulation: A Critical Case Study of the Australian Policy Arena
المؤلفون: Lisa Parker, Lisa Bero, Donna Gillies, Melissa Raven, Quinn Grundy
المصدر: International Journal of Health Policy and Management, Vol 8, Iss 3, Pp 168-176 (2019)
بيانات النشر: Kerman University of Medical Sciences, 2019.
سنة النشر: 2019
المجموعة: LCC:Public aspects of medicine
مصطلحات موضوعية: mobile applications, mhealth, regulation, policy analysis, mental health, australia, Public aspects of medicine, RA1-1270
الوصف: Background Health apps are a booming, yet under-regulated market, with potential consumer harms in privacy and health safety. Regulation of the health app market tends to be siloed, with no single sector holding comprehensive oversight. We sought to explore this phenomenon by critically analysing how the problem of health app regulation is being presented and addressed in the policy arena. Methods We conducted a critical, qualitative case study of regulation of the Australian mental health app market. We purposively sampled influential policies from government, industry and non-profit organisations that provided oversight of app development, distribution or selection for use. We used Bacchi’s critical, theoretical approach to policy analysis, analysing policy solutions in relation to the ways the underlying problem was presented and discussed. We analysed the ways that policies characterised key stakeholder groups and the rationale policy authors provided for various mechanisms of health app oversight. Results We identified and analysed 29 policies from Australia and beyond, spanning 5 sectors: medical device, privacy, advertising, finance, and digital content. Policy authors predominantly framed the problem as potential loss of commercial reputations and profits, rather than consumer protection. Policy solutions assigned main responsibility for app oversight to the public, with a heavy onus on consumers to select safe and high-quality apps. Commercial actors, including powerful app distributors and commercial third parties were rarely subjects of policy initiatives, despite having considerable power to affect app user outcomes. Conclusion A stronger regulatory focus on app distributors and commercial partners may improve consumer privacy and safety. Policy-makers in different sectors should work together to develop an overarching regulatory framework for health apps, with a focus on consumer protection.
نوع الوثيقة: article
وصف الملف: electronic resource
اللغة: English
تدمد: 2322-5939
Relation: http://www.ijhpm.com/article_3576_c193c1581dab865d02c2b0ff2e863a45.pdf; https://doaj.org/toc/2322-5939
DOI: 10.15171/IJHPM.2018.117
URL الوصول: https://doaj.org/article/d0e3bacb739842bfb445125e6a78ada4
رقم الانضمام: edsdoj.0e3bacb739842bfb445125e6a78ada4
قاعدة البيانات: Directory of Open Access Journals
الوصف
تدمد:23225939
DOI:10.15171/IJHPM.2018.117