Who Comes to a Self-help Depression Prevention Website? Characteristics of Spanish- and English-speaking Visitors

Overview

Journal Internet Interv

Date 2021 Feb 1

PMID 33520668

Citations 2

Authors

Ricardo F Munoz

Yan Leykin

Alinne Z Barrera

Laura B Dunn

Renee Gutierrez

Robert A Curland

Blanca S Pineda

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: To describe demographic and clinical characteristics of Spanish- and English-speaking visitors to a "Healthy Mood" website.

Methods: An online study intended to prevent depression by teaching users mood management skills recruited participants globally using primarily Google Ads. Those who consented responded to the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the MDE Screener (Muñoz, 1998) upon entry into the study.

Results: 1423 participants consented, 437 English speakers and 986 Spanish speakers. Of the 1271 participants with sufficient depression symptom data, 65% screened positive for a current major depressive episode, 30% were at high risk for onset of a major depressive episode, and 5% were in the low-risk category.

Conclusion: Websites intended to be preventive appear to attract primarily individuals who are currently experiencing enough symptoms to screen positive for a major depressive episode. Only 30% of participants were appropriate for a depression prevention intervention. Therefore, such sites must be ready to encourage those with current depression to obtain professional help as well as ensure that the online self-help interventions are appropriate for participants who could benefit from both preventive and treatment interventions.

Citing Articles

Satisfaction and Acceptability Ratings of a Web-Based Self-help Intervention for Depression: Retrospective Cross-sectional Study From a Resource-Limited Country.

Lara M, Patino P, Tiburcio M, Navarrete L JMIR Form Res. 2022; 6(4):e29566.

PMID: 35377324 PMC: 9016498. DOI: 10.2196/29566.

General Practice and Digital Methods to Recruit Stroke Survivors to a Clinical Mobility Study: Comparative Analysis.

Reuter K, Liu C, Le N, Angyan P, Finley J J Med Internet Res. 2021; 23(10):e28923.

PMID: 34643544 PMC: 8552096. DOI: 10.2196/28923.

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