A Digital Literacy Program for Adults with Mental Health Conditions

Limited literacy has a large impact on the U.S. population; about half of adults lack sufficient literacy proficiency. However, not all populations are impacted equally, as there is a significant comorbidity between low literacy and mental illness. The authors have found that smartphones can offer mental health patients with low literacy numerous resources. They will highlight two examples in this article and describe how each can be beneficial to a patient's health. While these resources have great potential, the authors realize that not all patients are able to use their smartphones like this as they lack basic digital literacy. [For part 1 of this Forum on supporting mental health, see EJ1389837. For part 3, see EJ1389833.]