Big White Wall: transforming mental health services through digital technologies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and present the innovations and service growth of leading UK digital health service bigwhitewall.com , against a backdrop of increasing consumer demand for digital health services. Design/methodology/approach – Big White Wall (BWW) is explored as a service that prioritises safety and clinical governance in an arena where many services are not regulated. Its services and their interactions are also detailed, with focus on how growth is directed by users, as BWW's development from a peer support forum to a 24/7, always-staffed service, is traced from 2007 to 2013. Bigwhitewall.com is used as a case study, and the paper explores how the service is responding to both user demand and the challenges and opportunities of digital healthcare. Findings – Through the case study, BWW was shown to be addressing both the needs of its users and the challenges of operating in a digital environment. Research limitations/implications – As this report is not concerned with theory, and limits itself to one organisation as a case study, it is unlikely that the research will generate more widely applicable theories relating to digital health services more generally. Practical implications – Practical implications for digital health services that can be drawn from this paper include recognising the importance of staffing and regulation/clinical governance when many health apps and digital health services available to the consumer are under or unregulated. Originality/value – This paper is useful to anyone interested in the field of digital mental health, as it explores some of the possibilities and challenges of this new field.