Digital therapeutics for stress in health science students at under-resourced universities: A narrative review

Abstract

Background: Health science students’ well-being and academic performance are important concerns in under-resourced universities. However, there is limited insight into mHealth interventions and institutional support for psychological stress driven by demanding curricula and socioeconomic disparities. Digital therapeutics (DTx) offer scalable technology-enabled support for stress management.
Aim: This narrative review explores how DTx can complement or enhance existing stress management approaches for health science students in under-resourced South African universities.
Methods: A narrative literature search was conducted across four databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Publications were from 2020 to 2024 on DTx addressing stress among university students, in low-resource settings and theoretical foundations. PRISMA guidelines informed reporting, and thematic synthesis followed Braun and Clarke. Theoretical frameworks informed analysis of effectiveness, the digital divide and mental health service integration.
Results: The synthesis of nine studies, institutional reports and grey literature yielded four main themes: infrastructural and financial constraints, psychological and sociocultural barriers, facilitators and success factors and integration with university mental health services.
Conclusion: Barriers included poor connectivity, high data costs, limited digital literacy, stigma around mental health and weak institutional support. Effective DTx adoption in low-resource settings requires overcoming barriers and strengthening policy, practice and research.
Contribution: Digital therapeutics have the potential to play an important role in addressing mental health inequities among health science students in South Africa and similar contexts. The study contributes insights into digital health interventions to enhance support systems in higher education.