Do online mental health services improve help-seeking for young people? A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Young people regularly use online services to seek help and look for information about mental health problems. Yet little is known about the effects that online services have on mental health and whether these services facilitate help-seeking in young people. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review investigates the effectiveness of online services in facilitating mental health help-seeking in young people. METHODS: Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, literature searches were conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane library. Out of 608 publications identified, 18 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria of investigating online mental health services and help-seeking in young people aged 14-25 years. RESULTS: Two qualitative, 12 cross-sectional, one quasi-experimental, and three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were reviewed. There was no change in help-seeking behavior found in the RCTs, while the quasi-experimental study found a slight but significant increase in help-seeking. The cross-sectional studies reported that online services facilitated seeking help from a professional source for an average of 35% of users. The majority of the studies included small sample sizes and a high proportion of young women. Help-seeking was often a secondary outcome, with only 22% (4/18) of studies using adequate measures of help-seeking. The majority of studies identified in this review were of low quality and likely to be biased. Across all studies, young people regularly used and were generally satisfied with online mental health resources. Facilitators and barriers to help-seeking were also identified. CONCLUSIONS: Few studies examine the effects of online services on mental health help-seeking. Further research is needed to determine whether online mental health services effectively facilitate help-seeking for young people.

Reaching the hard-to-reach: how information communication technologies can reach young people at greater risk of mental health difficulties.

OBJECTIVE: Inspire and partners have built an evidence base examining the role technology can play in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people at increased risk of developing mental health difficulties. This paper explores these findings collectively and considers how to best use information communication technologies (ICT) to meet the mental health needs of diverse young people aged 14-25. CONCLUSIONS: ICT offers relevant and innovative strategies for young people at increased risk of developing mental health difficulties. Whilst many young people experience social isolation and stigma, the manifestation of these issues and the strategies required to address them vary. ICT-based programs will benefit from identifying which protective factors can be most positively influenced through the unique properties of ICT, amongst whom and how. Challenges to ICT-based health services include inadequate access and training, lower literacy levels and the need for specialized technologies for people with disabilities.