Quantitative Research on Digitalized Treatment Options for Older Adults With Mental Illness: Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Older adults with mental illness face specific physical and psychosocial challenges and inequities, reflected in limited access to advanced technology. This digital divide is alarming as mental health interventions increasingly depend on both patients’ and clinicians’ access to technology. However, digitalized treatments also present opportunities to enhance accessibility, effectiveness, and equity across age groups. Objective: This scoping review charted the state of quantitative research on digitalized treatment options for older people with mental illness. We focused specifically on how technology is integrated into existing nonpharmacological mental health interventions or leveraged to create new ones. We also summarized the state of the art on the feasibility and effectiveness of these interventions for various mental illnesses. Methods: This review was conducted in compliance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for systematic scoping reviews. A PubMed search conducted in April 2024 and updated in April 2025 identified 64 studies (15,644 participants; aged 40-97 years). Included studies were original quantitative studies or reviews of these studies looking into nonpharmacological treatments for older adults with a psychiatric diagnosis using any kind of technology. Results: The technologies examined ranged from web-based psychotherapy platforms and digital devices for daily challenges to robots for social interaction. Few studies (5/64, 7%) examined the newest advances in digital mental health, such as artificial intelligence or virtual reality. Most studies (37/64, 58%) evaluated dementia-related interventions using small, nonrandomized samples and uncontrolled designs. Conclusions: The current state of the field, despite the promises of technology to reduce inequities between age groups, still largely excludes older adults from research on technological advances in mental health and their benefits. The field needs to overcome this selective bias and fight the “digital gray divide” in mental health.