scholarly journals Postsecondary Student Engagement With a Mental Health App and Online Platform (Thought Spot): Qualitative Study Assessing Factors Related to User Experience (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard W Wong ◽  
Brian Lo ◽  
Jenny Shi ◽  
Elisa Hollenberg ◽  
Alexxa Abi-Jaoude ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Postsecondary Students ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mental Health Information ◽  
Postsecondary Student ◽  
Mobile Mental Health

BACKGROUND There is growing interest in using mobile apps and online tools to support postsecondary student mental health, but most of these solutions have suboptimal user engagement in real-world settings. Poor engagement can limit long-term effectiveness and usefulness of these tools. Previous literature has proposed several theories that link factors such as low usability and poor user-centered design to app disengagement. However, few studies provide direct evidence showing what factors contribute to suboptimal user engagement in the context of mobile mental health apps for postsecondary students. OBJECTIVE This study focuses on understanding postsecondary students’ attitudes and behaviors when using Thought Spot, a co-designed mental health app and online platform, to understand factors related to engagement and user experience. METHODS Students who were given access to Thought Spot for 6 months during a randomized trial of the intervention were invited to participate in one-on-one semistructured interviews. The interviews explored participants’ overall experiences and perceptions of the app, along with factors that affected their usage of various features. All interviews were recorded, and template analysis was used to analyze transcripts. RESULTS User satisfaction was mixed among users of Thought Spot. The degree of engagement with the app appeared to be affected by factors that can be grouped 5 themes: (1) Students valued detailed, inclusive, and relevant content; (2) Technical glitches and a lack of integration with other apps affected overall user experience and satisfaction with the app; (3) Using the app to support peers or family can increase engagement; (4) Crowdsourced information from peers about mental health resources drove user engagement, but was difficult to obtain; and (5) Users often turned to the app when they had an immediate need for mental health information, rather than using it to track mental health information over time. CONCLUSIONS Content, user experience, user-centeredness, and peer support are important determinants of user engagement with mobile mental health apps among postsecondary students. In this study, participants disengaged when the app did not meet their expectations on these determinants. Future studies on user engagement should further explore the effectiveness of different features and the relative importance of various criteria for high-quality apps. Doing so may inform the creation of interventions that best engage students and align with their mental health needs. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03412461; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03412461 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/resprot.6446

scholarly journals Postsecondary Student Engagement With a Mental Health App and Online Platform (Thought Spot): Qualitative Study of User Experience

10.2196/23447 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. e23447
Author(s):  
Howard W Wong ◽  
Brian Lo ◽  
Jenny Shi ◽  
Elisa Hollenberg ◽  
Alexxa Abi-Jaoude ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Health Information ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Postsecondary Students ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mental Health Information ◽  
Mobile Mental Health

Background There is growing interest in using mobile apps and online tools to support postsecondary student mental health, but most of these solutions have suboptimal user engagement in real-world settings. Poor engagement can limit long-term effectiveness and usefulness of these tools. Previous literature has proposed several theories that link factors such as low usability and poor user-centered design to app disengagement. However, few studies provide direct evidence showing what factors contribute to suboptimal user engagement in the context of mobile mental health apps for postsecondary students. Objective This study focuses on understanding postsecondary students’ attitudes and behaviors when using Thought Spot, a co-designed mental health app and online platform, to understand factors related to engagement and user experience. Methods Students who were given access to Thought Spot for 6 months during a randomized trial of the intervention were invited to participate in one-on-one semistructured interviews. The interviews explored participants’ overall experiences and perceptions of the app, along with factors that affected their usage of various features. All interviews were recorded, and template analysis was used to analyze transcripts. Results User satisfaction was mixed among users of Thought Spot. The degree of engagement with the app appeared to be affected by factors that can be grouped into 5 themes: (1) Students valued detailed, inclusive, and relevant content; (2) Technical glitches and a lack of integration with other apps affected the overall user experience and satisfaction with the app; (3) Using the app to support peers or family can increase engagement; (4) Crowdsourced information from peers about mental health resources drove user engagement, but was difficult to obtain; and (5) Users often turned to the app when they had an immediate need for mental health information, rather than using it to track mental health information over time. Conclusions Content, user experience, user-centeredness, and peer support are important determinants of user engagement with mobile mental health apps among postsecondary students. In this study, participants disengaged when the app did not meet their expectations on these determinants. Future studies on user engagement should further explore the effectiveness of different features and the relative importance of various criteria for high-quality apps. Further focus on these issues may inform the creation of interventions that increase student engagement and align with their mental health needs. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03412461; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03412461 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR2-10.2196/resprot.6446

scholarly journals User Engagement with Mental Health Videos on YouTube

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tami Oliphant
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Mental Health Information ◽  
Health Organization

Introduction: Mental health is a primary determinant of well-being, and as more people look online for mental health information, YouTube is an increasingly important information source. Although authoritative organizations such as the World Health Organization post videos to YouTube, when retrieved these videos are interspersed with personal, commercial, governmental, television or other media segments, and institutional videos. YouTube was searched for videos on mental health to measure user engagement with these videos. It was hypothesized that videos posted to YouTube that contained personal narratives would generate more user engagement in terms of more video view counts, likes, and number of comments. Methods: YouTube was searched for mental health information using three different search terms and phrases: “depression,” “bipolar disorder,” and “mental health.” The first 20 results for the terms depression and bipolar disorder were screen captured and for the search phrase mental health the first 40 videos were screen captured. All 80 videos were categorized according to video producer type and analyzed using YouTube metrics including number of “likes,” view counts, and comments to measure user engagement with the videos. Results: The majority of videos returned in the top results were posted by laypersons and the videos focus on the poster's personal experience (38%) followed by videos produced for television and other media (29%). Videos that contain personal narratives and experiential knowledge generate the most user engagement and are preferred sources for users searching for mental health information. Discussion: Users’ greater engagement with personal videos indicates that there is an important role for librarians and information professionals in assisting users in deciding what mental health information is accurate, authoritative, and reliable regardless of the authority of the video producer. In addition, the results of this research might inform best practices for professional organizations posting videos to YouTube.

scholarly journals Online Mental Health Information Behaviours of Emerging Adults: A Web Usability and User Experience Study

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Rasmussen Neal ◽  
Cameron Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Health Information ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Santé Mentale ◽  
Web Usability ◽  
Mental Health Information ◽  
Sante Mentale

This research utilizes Web usability and user experience studies to determine how a small sample of university students ages 18-25 look for and access mental health information online, and how they would like to see the presentation of online mental health information improved.Cette recherche se base sur des études sur la convivialité Web et l’expérience de l’utilisateur pour déterminer comment un petit échantillon d’étudiants universitaires de 18 à 25 ans recherchent et utilisent de l’information sur la santé mentale en ligne, et comment ils aimeraient en améliorer la présentation. 

scholarly journals Mental Health, Information and Being Connected: Qualitative Experiences of Social Media Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic from a Trans-National Sample

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 735
Author(s):  
Schoultz Mariyana ◽  
Leung Janni ◽  
Bonsaksen Tore ◽  
Ruffolo Mary ◽  
Thygesen Hilde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
National Study ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mental Health Information ◽  
The Uk

Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the strict national policies regarding social distancing behavior in Europe, America and Australia, people became reliant on social media as a means for gathering information and as a tool for staying connected to family, friends and work. This is the first trans-national study exploring the qualitative experiences and challenges of using social media while in lockdown or shelter-in-place during the current pandemic. Methods: This study was part of a wider cross-sectional online survey conducted in Norway, the UK, USA and Australia during April/May 2020. The manuscript reports on the qualitative free-text component of the study asking about the challenges of social media users during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, USA and Australia. A total of 1991 responses were included in the analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted independently by two researchers. Results: Three overarching themes identified were: Emotional/Mental Health, Information and Being Connected. Participants experienced that using social media during the pandemic amplified anxiety, depression, fear, panic, anger, frustration and loneliness. They felt that there was information overload and social media was full of misleading or polarized opinions which were difficult to switch off. Nonetheless, participants also thought that there was an urge for connection and learning, which was positive and stressful at the same time. Conclusion: Using social media while in a shelter-in-place or lockdown could have a negative impact on the emotional and mental health of some of the population. To support policy and practice in strengthening mental health care in the community, social media could be used to deliver practical advice on coping and stress management. Communication with the public should be strengthened by unambiguous and clear messages and clear communication pathways. We should be looking at alternative ways of staying connected.

A Model for the National Mental Health Information Network

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Rabiei ◽  
Farkhonde Aasdi ◽  
Hamid Moghaddasi ◽  
Mahdie Shojaei Baghini
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Information Network ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Mental Health Information ◽  
Architectural Model ◽  
National Mental Health ◽  
Data Elements

Aim: Accurate information can be accessed in a timely manner through the Integrated Mental Health Information Network (MHIN). As Iran has no MHIN, this study was undertaken to propose an architectural model.  Method: This research is a sequential mixed method. The organizational structure and database structure of the MHIN was identified, and the architectural model of the NMHIN was presented in two main phases. In the first phase, a quantitative study was conducted in a scoping review with an extensive review of the background, documents, information, and available resources about the mental health information network. In the second phase, to validate the proposed architecture, the Delphi technique was implemented. Questionnaires were distributed and collected both in person and by e-mail, and finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS-19. Results: The model of national MHIN was provided in five dimensions: MH entities, organizational ownership of databases, data elements of each database, linkage among databases, and exchangeable data elements among the databases. Conclusion: This model can be applied as a suitable platform to effectively and efficiently store and use mental health information. So, the available information can be used for providing mental health services more comfortably and appropriately. The results showed that connecting mental health entities can create a flow of information, coordinate MHIN activities, and improve performance, efficiency, and quality of mental health.

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