Development of Digital Health Diaries Among Urban Youth in Lagos, Nigeria: Early Detection Rates for Mental Health Disorders One-Year Outcome Evaluation

Urban youth in Lagos, Nigeria are at risk for mental health disorders due to environmental stressors such as poverty and overcrowding. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including quantitative data collection through digital health diaries and qualitative interviews for thematic analysis. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. Early detection rates indicated an average of 35% improvement in mental health symptoms reported by participants over the one-year period. The study highlights the effectiveness of digital health diaries as a tool for early detection and monitoring of mental health disorders among urban youth in Lagos, Nigeria. Further research should focus on validating these findings through larger-scale studies and exploring potential policy implications to enhance access to care for at-risk populations. Treatment effect was estimated with logit(pᵢ)=β₀+β^ Xᵢ, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.