ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO FACILITATE BETTER MENTAL HEALTH

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As estimated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), “the burden of

mental health problems in India is to the tune of 2,443 disability-adjusted
life years (DALYs) per 100,000 population, and the age-adjusted suicide rate
per 100,000 population is 21.1. Between 2012 and 2030, India’s economic
loss due to mental health conditions is pegged at 1.03 trillion dollars.”
Similarly, The National Mental Health Survey, 2016, estimated that over 85%
of people with common mental disorders such as depression or anxiety
disorder and 73.6% of people with severe mental disorders such as
psychosis or bipolar disorder do not receive any mental healthcare and
treatment.

Even more unsettling is the fact that the availability of mental health care
providers is abysmally low as compared to the number of patients. The ideal
psychiatrist to population ratio is about 1: 8000 to 10,000, but actual
figures stand at 1:2, 00,000. According to the reports from the Indian
Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the ratio is even worse
when it comes to specialised mental health care services. As per the
requirement of 20,000 clinical psychologists, only 1000 are available;
for psychiatric social workers, only 900 are available against the
requirement of 35000, and whereas 30000 psychiatric nurses are
needed, only 1500 are available.

These glaringly worrying statistics on state of mental health in India have time
and again revealed that it is a silent epidemic which needs immediate
attention and solutions to improve the situation and make quality mental
healthcare accessible to more people. Among other pre-existing measures,
artificial Intelligence (AI) i.e. computer programming which replicates aspects
of human intelligence and behaviour is being looked at as a viable solution to
these issues. In fact, with the government planning to establish a National
Artificial Intelligence Center, India has never been better placed to utilize AI to
assist those suffering from mental illnesses.

How can AI Help Promote Better Mental Health?

AI works as an enabler for both—the psychiatrist and the patient. It has the
potential to identify and diagnose mental disorders accurately, efficiently, and
before or on time. Through chat bots and virtual assistants, it might also be
useful in providing basic counseling based on the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
model. This could prove to be a game changer when it comes to suicide
prevention as timely intervention and support may help buy time and take the
patient’s mind off the decision to kill himself or herself.

While the traditional practice in mental health, alongside the observations of

mental health professionals, requires the individual to observe and self-report
indicative changes; AI-based mechanisms can help diagnose the problem early
by noticing mood shifts, speech patterns, linguistic cues etc.

It can also be used to analyse social media interactions and detect the status of
users’ mental health. For example, researchers from the World Well Being
Project analysed social media using AI and found out that “those suffering
from depression express themselves on social media in ways that those dealing
with other chronic conditions do not such as mentions of loneliness and using
words such as "feelings," "I" and "me." Depression-associated language
markers, facial expressions, tone of their interactions could help foretell onset
of depression up to three months before the person received a formal
diagnosis.

Better and quick access to mental health care without having to compromise
on one’s privacy is also one of the primary advantages of harnessing the power
of AI in this space. Stigma related to mental illnesses deters patients from
speaking up and seeking help. Further, some patients, due to fear of being
judged, may feel hesitant to discuss their situation with other individuals,
including trained professionals. This leads to more pent-up emotions and
worsening of the person's situation in the long run. In such a scenario, AI is not
only perceived as a non-opinionated, non-judgmental, and a neutral listener,
but one can also have himself or herself heard within one’s own privacy and
comfort zone.

Last but not the least, AI-powered apps can be used to track a person’s lifestyle
and keep him or her motivated to follow practices such as yoga, meditation,
solving puzzles etc. either to prevent mental health crisis or improve his or her
situation in case it has already set in. Voiced mental health assistants can
provide a hyper-personalized experience to inform people about changes that
their bodies undergo during stress and guide them towards better mental
health practices.
The Way Ahead

With smartphones getting ubiquitous, focus on development of AI and

initiatives like Digital India, quick 24X7 access, accuracy of data generated,
and low cost of implementation, AI can help create affordable mental
healthcare solutions in India. Though, lack of human contact is often cited as
one of its drawbacks, yet, it is an effective tool to improve the quality and
access of mental healthcare services in India. To ensure its efficacy further
and identify the possible loopholes in its implementation, it is important to
study the full impact AI can have on treating people with mental disorders
by testing it on a large population of people from different demographic,
socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds.