Difficulties Encountered by People With Depression and Anxiety on the Web: Qualitative Study and Web-Based Expert Survey

Background Depression and anxiety are the most common mental health conditions, and they were identified as leading contributors to global disability in 2016. People with these conditions rely on Web-based resources as a source of accurate health information, convenient and effective treatment, and essential social support. However, a recent systematic review revealed several potentially limiting difficulties that this group experiences online and also suggested that there is a partial understanding of these difficulties as only difficulties associated with neurocognitive, but not sociocognitive, deficits were identified. Therefore, this study fills this knowledge gap and contributes to a more robust and fuller understanding of the difficulties this group experiences online. Objective The objective of this study was to identify the difficulties people with depression and anxiety experience when using the Web and the Web activities that are most associated with the experience of difficulties. Methods The study employed data triangulation using face-to-face semistructured interviews with 21 participants affected by depression and anxiety and a comparison group (7 participants) without mental disorders (study 1) as well as a persona-based expert online survey with 21 mental health practitioners (MHPs) who treated people with depression and anxiety (study 2). Framework analysis for both studies proceeded through 5 stages: (1) familiarization, (2) identifying a thematic framework, (3) indexing, (4) charting, and (5) mapping and interpretation. Results In study 1, 167 difficulties were identified from the experiences of participants in the depression and anxiety group were discussed within the context of 81 Web activities, services, and features. From these, 4 themes and 12 subthemes describing the difficulties people with depression and anxiety experienced online were identified. Difficulties relating to the subtheme lack of control over access and usage were the most common difficulties experienced by participants in the depression and anxiety group (19/21). Sixteen difficulties identified from the experiences of participants in the comparison group were discussed within the context of 11 Web activities, services, and features. Most participants in the comparison group (6/7) contributed to the subtheme describing difficulties with unexpected and irrelevant content. In study 2, researchers identified 3 themes and 10 subthemes that described the perceived difficulties people with depression and anxiety might experience online as reported by MHPs. Practitioners linked these difficulties with 22 common impairments, limitations in activities of daily life, and diagnostic criteria associated with depression and anxiety. Conclusions People with depression and anxiety also experience difficulties when using the Web that are related to the sociocognitive deficits associated with their conditions. MHPs have a good awareness of the difficulties that people with depression and anxiety are likely to experience when using the Web. This investigation has contributed to a fuller understanding of these difficulties and provides innovative guidance on how to remove and reduce them for people with depression and anxiety when using the Web. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR2-10.1007/978-3-319-21006-3_3

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Difficulties Encountered by People With Depression and Anxiety on the Web: Qualitative Study and Web-Based Expert Survey (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.12514 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Renaldo Bernard ◽

Carla Sabariego ◽

Alarcos Cieza

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Online Survey ◽

Comparison Group ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Framework Analysis ◽

Web Based ◽

Anxiety Group ◽

Face To Face ◽

Group Experiences ◽

The Web

BACKGROUND Depression and anxiety are the most common mental health conditions, and they were identified as leading contributors to global disability in 2016. People with these conditions rely on Web-based resources as a source of accurate health information, convenient and effective treatment, and essential social support. However, a recent systematic review revealed several potentially limiting difficulties that this group experiences online and also suggested that there is a partial understanding of these difficulties as only difficulties associated with neurocognitive, but not sociocognitive, deficits were identified. Therefore, this study fills this knowledge gap and contributes to a more robust and fuller understanding of the difficulties this group experiences online. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to identify the difficulties people with depression and anxiety experience when using the Web and the Web activities that are most associated with the experience of difficulties. METHODS The study employed data triangulation using face-to-face semistructured interviews with 21 participants affected by depression and anxiety and a comparison group (7 participants) without mental disorders (study 1) as well as a persona-based expert online survey with 21 mental health practitioners (MHPs) who treated people with depression and anxiety (study 2). Framework analysis for both studies proceeded through 5 stages: (1) familiarization, (2) identifying a thematic framework, (3) indexing, (4) charting, and (5) mapping and interpretation. RESULTS In study 1, 167 difficulties were identified from the experiences of participants in the depression and anxiety group were discussed within the context of 81 Web activities, services, and features. From these, 4 themes and 12 subthemes describing the difficulties people with depression and anxiety experienced online were identified. Difficulties relating to the subtheme lack of control over access and usage were the most common difficulties experienced by participants in the depression and anxiety group (19/21). Sixteen difficulties identified from the experiences of participants in the comparison group were discussed within the context of 11 Web activities, services, and features. Most participants in the comparison group (6/7) contributed to the subtheme describing difficulties with unexpected and irrelevant content. In study 2, researchers identified 3 themes and 10 subthemes that described the perceived difficulties people with depression and anxiety might experience online as reported by MHPs. Practitioners linked these difficulties with 22 common impairments, limitations in activities of daily life, and diagnostic criteria associated with depression and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS People with depression and anxiety also experience difficulties when using the Web that are related to the sociocognitive deficits associated with their conditions. MHPs have a good awareness of the difficulties that people with depression and anxiety are likely to experience when using the Web. This investigation has contributed to a fuller understanding of these difficulties and provides innovative guidance on how to remove and reduce them for people with depression and anxiety when using the Web. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.1007/978-3-319-21006-3_3

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Web-Based Data Collection for Educational Research

Advancing Educational Research With Emerging Technology - Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-1173-2.ch008 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 152-172

Author(s):

Erkan Tekinarslan ◽

Melih Derya Gürer ◽

Sedat Akayoğlu

Keyword(s):

Data Collection ◽

Educational Research ◽

Selection Criteria ◽

Web Mining ◽

Online Survey ◽

Web Based ◽

Face To Face ◽

The Face ◽

The Web

Web-based surveys and web-based interviews are useful techniques to collect data through the web in educational research. In addition, web activities such as blogging, searching, and web mining have become quite convenient to collect and extract data from the web for research purposes. The purposes of this chapter are to describe and discuss techniques and tools for collecting and extracting data from the web for educational research purposes. First, a survey and a web-based or online survey are described and explained with examples. Second, web-based or online interviews, which are often similar to the face-to-face interview protocols are discussed and exemplified. After presenting the synchronous and asynchronous online interview tools, the selection criteria of the online interviewing tools are discussed. Lastly, this chapter describes and discusses web activities such as blogging, searching, and web mining to collect and extract data from the web.

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Web-based interventions aimed at improving the mental health effects of home caregivers for dementia: Meta-analysis (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.13415 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Hui Feng ◽

Yinan Zhao ◽

Mingyue Hu ◽

Hengyu Hu ◽

Hui Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

The Elderly ◽

Anxiety Symptoms ◽

Average Score ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Web Based ◽

Negative Results ◽

Cochrane Database ◽

The Web

BACKGROUND Dementia is one of the major cause of disability and dependency among the elderly worldwide, and there are general psychological distresses among caregivers in dementia, such as depression and anxiety symptoms. The physical and mental health of the caregiver is a prerequisite and a promise to help the elderly stay alive and promote health. Web-based interventions can provide for a more convenient and efficient support and education, OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of internet-based interventions on mental health outcomes of family caregivers with dementia, and exploring which components of the web-based interventions play an important role.which are likely to reduce caregivers’ negative outcomes associated with care. METHODS A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database and CINAHL by using relevant terms such as web-based and caregiver as keywords, covering all studies published before June 2018. Two reviewers independently reviewed all published abstracts, according to the established inclusion and exclusion criteria ，we extracted the information about participants, interventions and results, respectively, and reviewed the quality of articles on the methods of randomized trials using the approach recommended by the Cochrane Handbook for systematic review for intervention. RESULTS A total of 815 caregivers participated in 6 articles, and 4 of the studies use depression as an outcome, according to the research after different interventions based on network after the intervention, depression scores average drop of 0.23 (95%CI -0.38 to -0.07, p<0.01), 2 studies show caregivers anxiety symptoms, the average score for anxiety dropped by 0.32 points (95% CI -0.50 to -0.14, p< 0.01), but in terms of coping, pain and stress, the web-based interventions have shown a poor effect. On the whole, the addition of professional psychological support on the basis of education can improve mental health of carers. CONCLUSIONS Internet-based interventions were generally effective in reducing anxiety and depression in dementia carers, although negative results were found in some studies. But in terms of burden and stress, further research is needed.

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Mental health and preventive behaviour of pregnant women in China during the early phase of the COVID-19 period

Infectious Diseases of Poverty ◽

10.1186/s40249-021-00825-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Qian Wang ◽

Phoenix K. H. Mo ◽

Bo Song ◽

Jiang-Li Di ◽

Feng-Rong Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Social Factors ◽

Early Phase ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Online Survey ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Face Mask ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Regression Analyses

Abstract Background The COVID-19 has caused significant toll over the globe. Pregnant women are at risk of infection. The present study examined the frequency of washing hands with soap and wearing face mask when going out, prevalence of depression and anxiety, and identified their associated factors among pregnant women during the early phase of COVID-19 outbreak in China. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between 24 February and 3 March 2020. A total of 15 428 pregnant women who were using maternal health care services in China completed a questionnaire which assessed their socio-demographic and pregnancy-related characteristics, contextual, cognitive and social factors related to COVID-19, frequency of washing hands and wearing face masks, and depression and anxiety. Logistics regression analyses were performed to identify the associated factors of preventive behaviours and mental health. Results The prevalence of probable anxiety and depression was 28.2% and 43.6% respectively. 19.8% reported always wearing face mask when going out, and 19.1% reported washing hands with soap for more than 10 times per day. Results from logistic regression analyses showed that older age was associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety (OR = 0.42–0.67) and higher frequency of washing hands (OR = 1.57–3.40). Higher level of education level was associated with probable depression (OR = 1.31–1.45) and higher frequency of wearing face mask (OR = 1.50–1.57). After adjusting for significant socio-demographic and pregnancy-related factors, place of residence being locked down (aOR = 1.10–1.11), being quarantined (aOR = 1.42–1.57), personally knowing someone being infected with COVID-19 (aOR = 1.80–1.92), perception that COVID-19 would pose long term physical harm to human (aOR = 1.25–1.28) were associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety, while the perception that the disease will be under control in the coming month was associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety (aOR = 0.59–0.63) and lower tendency of always wearing face mask (aOR = 0.85). Social support was associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety (aOR = 0.86–0,87) and higher frequency of washing hands (aOR = 1.06). Conclusions The mental health and preventive behaviours of pregnant women during COVID-19 outbreak was associated with a range of socio-demographic, pregnancy-related, contextual, cognitive and social factors. Interventions to mitigate their mental health problems and to promote preventive behaviours are highly warranted.

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Subjective Well-being, Mental Health and Concerns During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From the Global South

Review of European Studies ◽

10.5539/res.v13n2p72 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 72

Author(s):

Lina Martínez ◽

Valeria Trofimoff ◽

Isabella Valencia

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Positive Emotions ◽

Online Survey ◽

Well Being ◽

Global South ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Current Crisis ◽

Study Results

COVID-19 pandemic is harming many social and economic spheres beyond physical health. The subjective well-being of the population (positive emotions and life satisfaction) and the prevalence of stressors affecting good mental health like worry, depression, and anxiety are increasing worldwide. This analysis presents evidence of subjective well-being and mental health in Colombia, South America, during the current crisis. The data for this analysis comes from an online survey released after one month of quarantine. In total, 941 adults participated in the study. Results show that women are more affected by their well-being and experience more often worry, depression, and anxiety than males. In particular, younger women and from the lower socioeconomic strata. Respondents identify three primary concerns because of the pandemic: i) financial consequences, ii) health (personal and loved one's health), and iii) productivity. Respondents are, on average, more concerned for the health of loved ones than their health. 49% of study participants report having an income reduction as a consequence of the pandemic, but women in all subgroups analyzed are more affected than males. In terms of productivity –working remotely-, educated people, and from 50+ age range, feels more productive working from home. Evidence from this analysis contributes to the broader research of the consequences of COVID-19 on the well-being of the population. Evidence comes from a country in the global South with high population ratings of subjective well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction before the pandemic. 

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Psychometric Properties of the Korean Version of the Mental Health Professionals Stress Scale

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.685423 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Eun Sol Lee ◽

Vin Ryu ◽

Ji Hyun Lee ◽

Hyeon Hong ◽

Hyeree Han ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Social Workers ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Concurrent Validity ◽

Online Survey ◽

Factor Model ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Stress Scale

Background: Job stress of mental health professionals can have a negative impact on them, particularly their psychological health and mortality, and may also affect organizations' and institutions' ability to provide quality mental health services to patients.Aim: This study aimed to: (1) investigate the validity and reliability of the Korean Mental Health Professionals Stress Scale (K-MHPSS), (2) develop K-MHPSS cut-off points to measure clinical depression and anxiety, and (3) examine whether specific stressors vary by area of expertise.Methodology: Data were collected via an online survey over 3 months, from August to October 2020. An online survey using a survey website was administered to volunteers who accessed the link and consented to participate. Data from 558 participants (200 clinical psychologists, 157 nurses, and 201 social workers) were included in the final analysis. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were conducted to examine the factor structure of the K-MHPSS; concurrent validity of the scale was determined by analyzing correlation; internal consistency was determined by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. In addition, ROC curve analysis and Youden's index were used to estimate optimal cut-off points for K-MHPSS; one-way ANOVA was performed to investigate the difference among the three groups.Results: The seven-factor model of the original scale did not be replicated by Korean mental health professionals. The K-MHPSS had the best fit with the six-factor model, which consists of 34 items. Concurrent validity was confirmed, and overall reliability was found to be good. The K-MHPSS cut-off points for depression and anxiety appeared to slightly different by professional groups. Furthermore, nurses and social workers showed significantly higher total scores compared to clinical psychologists, and there are significant differences in subscale scores among professionals.Conclusion: The Korean version of the MHPSS has appropriate psychometric properties and can be used to assess the occupational stress of mental health professionals. It can also serve as a reference point for screening clinical level of depression and anxiety in mental health professionals.

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Concordance studies of a web based system in teledermatology.

Colombia Medica ◽

10.25100/cm.v40i3.654 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 40 (3) ◽

pp. 259-270

Author(s):

Carlos Ruiz ◽

Claudia Gaviria ◽

Miguel Gaitán ◽

Rubén Manrique ◽

Ángela Zuluaga ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Health Information ◽

User Satisfaction ◽

Diagnostic Reliability ◽

Web Based ◽

Face To Face ◽

A Priority ◽

Web Based System ◽

The Web

Introduction: Implementation of teledermatology in primary care offers the possibility of treating patients using specific dermatologic knowledge in far away places with infrequent availability to these services. It is a priority to implement teledermatology services which demonstrate diagnostic reliability and satisfaction among users. Objectives and methods: To measure the diagnostic reliability of an asynchronous teledermatology web based application by means of intraobserver and interobserver concordance during teleconsultation and traditional presential («face to face») consultation. Furthermore, to evaluate user satisfaction regarding the teleconsultation and the web application.Results: A sample of 82 patients with 172 dermatologic diagnoses was obtained, in which an intraobserver concordance between 80.8% and 86.6%, and an interobserver concordance between 77.3% and 79.6% were found. Satisfaction was evaluated to be on an average of 92.5%.Conclusions: The teleconsultation reliability in teledermatology is evidenced to be high, and is susceptible of improvement through the implementation of health information standards and digital dermatologic photography protocols.

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The Session Wants and Need Outcome Measure: The Development of a Brief Outcome Measure for Single-Sessions of Web-Based Support

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.748145 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Santiago de Ossorno Garcia ◽

Louisa Salhi ◽

Aaron Sefi ◽

Terry Hanley

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Young People ◽

Design Process ◽

Outcome Measure ◽

Brief Interventions ◽

Face Validity ◽

Single Session ◽

Framework Analysis ◽

Web Based ◽

Mental Health Settings

Single-session, brief interventions in therapy for young people make up a large proportion of service provision, including in digital mental health settings. Current nomothetic mental health measures are not specifically designed to capture the benefit or ‘change’ directly related to these brief interventions. As a consequence, we set out to design an outcome measure to concretely demonstrate the value of single-session interventions. The Session Wants and Needs Outcome Measure (SWAN-OM) aims to capture in-session goals and focuses on being user-centric, elements critical to the success of single-session and brief interventions which typically are asset-based and solution-focused. We describe the 4-stage process that was followed to develop this measure: (I) classical item generation and development, (II) content and (III) face validity pilot testing, and (IV) a user-experience approach with young people using framework analysis. This final stage was critical to ensure the integration of this outcome tool into a web-based digital therapy setting, a context which adds another layer of design complexity to item and measure development. This iterative methodology was used to overcome the challenges encountered and to place the needs of the young people and service practitioners at the centre of the design process, thus ensuring measure usability. To end, we highlight the main lessons learnt from engaging in this design process. Specifically, the needs of a measure for single-session interventions are considered, before outlining the learning associated with integrating the measure into a digital mental health platform. Both of these areas are emerging fields and, as such, this study contributes to our understanding of how an idiographic patient outcome theory driven measure can be created for use in a web-based digital mental health therapy service.

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Initial Training for Mental Health Peer Support Workers: Systematized Review and International Delphi Consultation (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.25528 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ashleigh Charles ◽

Rebecca Nixdorf ◽

Nashwa Ibrahim ◽

Lion Gai Meir ◽

Richard S Mpango ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Peer Support ◽

The Internet ◽

Initial Training ◽

Web Based ◽

Face To Face ◽

Systematized Review ◽

Strong Consensus ◽

Support Work ◽

Peer Support Work

BACKGROUND Initial training is essential for the mental health peer support worker (PSW) role. Training needs to incorporate recent advances in digital peer support and the increase of peer support work roles internationally. There is a lack of evidence on training topics that are important for initial peer support work training and on which training topics can be provided on the internet. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to establish consensus levels about the content of initial training for mental health PSWs and the extent to which each identified topic can be delivered over the internet. METHODS A systematized review was conducted to identify a preliminary list of training topics from existing training manuals. Three rounds of Delphi consultation were then conducted to establish the importance and web-based deliverability of each topic. In round 1, participants were asked to rate the training topics for importance, and the topic list was refined. In rounds 2 and 3, participants were asked to rate each topic for importance and the extent to which they could be delivered over the internet. RESULTS The systematized review identified 32 training manuals from 14 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These were synthesized to develop a preliminary list of 18 topics. The Delphi consultation involved 110 participants (49 PSWs, 36 managers, and 25 researchers) from 21 countries (14 high-income, 5 middle-income, and 2 low-income countries). After the Delphi consultation (round 1: n=110; round 2: n=89; and round 3: n=82), 20 training topics (18 universal and 2 context-specific) were identified. There was a strong consensus about the importance of five topics: lived experience as an asset, ethics, PSW well-being, and PSW role focus on recovery and communication, with a moderate consensus for all other topics apart from the knowledge of mental health. There was no clear pattern of differences among PSW, manager, and researcher ratings of importance or between responses from participants in countries with different resource levels. All training topics were identified with a strong consensus as being deliverable through blended web-based and face-to-face training (rating 1) or fully deliverable on the internet with moderation (rating 2), with none identified as only deliverable through face-to-face teaching (rating 0) or deliverable fully on the web as a stand-alone course without moderation (rating 3). CONCLUSIONS The 20 training topics identified can be recommended for inclusion in the curriculum of initial training programs for PSWs. Further research on web-based delivery of initial training is needed to understand the role of web-based moderation and whether web-based training better prepares recipients to deliver web-based peer support. CLINICALTRIAL

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The Effectiveness of Scaffolding in a Web-Based, Adaptive Learning System

Web Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-982-3.ch022 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 379-393

Author(s):

Mei-Yu Chang ◽

Wernhuar Tarng ◽

Fu-Yu Shin

Keyword(s):

Adaptive Learning ◽

Learning System ◽

Control Group ◽

School Students ◽

Web Based ◽

Face To Face ◽

Adaptive Learning System ◽

Group B ◽

Experimental Group ◽

The Web

This study combined ideas from learning hierarchy and scaffolding theory to design a webbased, adaptive learning system to investigate the effectiveness of scaffolding for elementary school students having different levels of learning achievement. The topic chosen for learning was the Three States of Water. A quasi-experiment was conducted. In this experiment, students were divided into three groups: control group (without scaffolds), experimental group A (scaffolds providing by on-line conversation) and experimental group B (scaffolds providing by face-to-face conversation). The experimental results showed significant improvement for students after they had studied using the web-based, adaptive learning system. Specifically, scaffolds in the form of face-to-face conversations greatly enhanced the learning of high-achievement students. However, there were no significant differences between the low-achievement students with or without the provision of scaffolds. It was also discovered that the web-based, adaptive learning system could help students develop their learning responsibility.

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