Decision-making about uptake and engagement with digital mental health services: a qualitative exploration of service user perspectives

ABSTRACT

Objective

Digital mental health services (DMHS) overcome many barriers to help-seeking. Yet, people’s use and uptake of treatment with DMHSs varies considerably. This study explored service user perspectives on deciding to take up online assessment and treatment for anxiety and/or depression within a large national DMHS.

Method

Participants were 20 adults who had self-referred or were referred by a GP to an Australia-wide DMHS for psychological assessment (group 1), plus follow-up discussion of treatment/other service options with a therapist (group 2), plus enrolment into internet-delivered treatment with optional therapist guidance (group 3). Participants took part in one-to-one semi-structured interviews, with parallel question guides tailored to their group status. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using framework methods.

Results

Analyses yielded three interlinking themes. Theme 1 highlighted the “importance of the broader treatment context, and its interaction with DHMS”; Theme 2 drew attention to “how the internal service structure shapes decision-making”; Theme 3 focussed on “the scope and limitations of DMHS”.

Conclusion

Findings provide in-depth insights into service user decision-making around engagement with DMHS and can inform the development of interventions to support users to take up DMHS offerings that are best suited to their needs, preferences, and current circumstances.

Key points

What is already known about this topic: 

1.  Digital mental health services (DMHSs) bypass many of the barriers to treatment-seeking

2.  DMHS users vary in how and the extent to which they engage with digital treatments.

3.  There is limited understanding of factors influencing user decisions to uptake and engage with DMHS.

What this topic adds: 

1. Service user attitudes and experiences, the DMHS’s internal structure and service delivery model, and the broader treatment landscape including external health professionals, all appear to shape user decision-making.

2. Identified themes align with constructs from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, namely intervention characteristics; outer setting; inner setting;and characteristics of individuals.

3. Consistent with models of shared decision-making, service users value the role of therapists in supporting active and informed decision-making around uptake and engagement with the DMHS.

KEYWORDS:

• Digital mental health service
• decision-making
• depression
• anxiety
• qualitative study
• iCBT

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the participants for generously sharing their lived experience for this research. The first author, Dr Alana Fisher, is supported by a Macquarie University Research Fellowship which partially funded this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/13284207.2023.2279657

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded through a Macquarie University Research Fellowship, held by the lead author (AF).