Explicit and implicit information needs of people with depression: a qualitative investigation of problems reported on an online depression support forum

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Abstract

Background

Health management is impeded when consumers do not possess adequate knowledge about their illness. At a public health level, consumer knowledge about depression is particularly important because depression is highly prevalent and causes substantial disability and burden. However, currently little is known about the information needs of people with depression. This study aimed to investigate the explicit and implicit information needs of users of an online depression support forum.

Methods

A sample of 2680 posts was systematically selected from three discussion forums on an online depression bulletin board (blueboard.anu.edu.au). Data were examined for evidence of requests for information (reflecting explicit needs) and reports of past or current problems (implicit needs). Thematic analysis was conducted using a data-driven inductive approach with the assistance of NVivo 7, and instances of questions and people reporting particular types of problems were recorded.

Results

A total of 134 participants with personal experience of depression contributed to the data analysed. Six broad themes represented participant queries and reported problems: Understanding depression; disclosure and stigma; medication; treatment and services; coping with depression; and comorbid health problems. A variety of specific needs were evident within these broad thematic areas. Some people (n = 46) expressed their information needs by asking direct questions (47 queries) but the majority of needs were expressed implicitly (351 problems) by the 134 participants. The most evident need for information related to coping with depression and its consequences, followed by topics associated with medication, treatment and services.

Conclusions

People with depression have substantial unmet information needs and require strategies to deal with the difficulties they face. They require access to high quality and relevant online resources and professionals; thus, there is a need to rectify current gaps in the provision of information and limitations of dissemination. Greater knowledge about depression and its treatment is also needed at the general community level.

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Most cited references 24

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Failure and delay in initial treatment contact after first onset of mental disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.

Ronald C Kessler, Patricia Berglund, Philip Wang … (2005)

An understudied crucial step in the help-seeking process is making prompt initial contact with a treatment provider after first onset of a mental disorder. To provide data on patterns and predictors of failure and delay in making initial treatment contact after first onset of a mental disorder in the United States from the recently completed National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Nationally representative face-to-face household survey carried out between February 2001 and April 2003. A total of 9282 respondents aged 18 years and older. Lifetime DSM-IV disorders were assessed with the World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative version of the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI), a fully structured interview designed to be administered by trained lay interviewers. Information about age of first professional treatment contact for each lifetime DSM-IV/WMH-CIDI disorder assessed in the survey was collected and compared with age at onset of the disorder to study typical duration of delay. Cumulative lifetime probability curves show that the vast majority of people with lifetime disorders eventually make treatment contact, although more so for mood (88.1%-94.2%) disorders than for anxiety (27.3%-95.3%), impulse control (33.9%-51.8%), or substance (52.7%-76.9%) disorders. Delay among those who eventually make treatment contact ranges from 6 to 8 years for mood disorders and 9 to 23 years for anxiety disorders. Failure to make initial treatment contact and delay among those who eventually make treatment contact are both associated with early age of onset, being in an older cohort, and a number of socio-demographic characteristics (male, married, poorly educated, racial/ethnic minority). Failure to make prompt initial treatment contact is a pervasive aspect of unmet need for mental health care in the United States. Interventions to speed initial treatment contact are likely to reduce the burdens and hazards of untreated mental disorder.

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Efficacy of an Internet-based behavioral intervention for adults with insomnia.

Linda Gonder-Frederick, Lee Ritterband, Sean T. Bailey … (2009)

Insomnia is a major health problem with significant psychological, health, and economic consequences. However, availability of one of the most effective insomnia treatments, cognitive behavioral therapy, is significantly limited. The Internet may be a key conduit for delivering this intervention. To evaluate the efficacy of a structured behavioral Internet intervention for adults with insomnia. Forty-five adults were randomly assigned to an Internet intervention (n = 22) or wait-list control group (n = 23). Forty-four eligible participants (mean [SD] age, 44.86 [11.03] years; 34 women) who had a history of sleep difficulties longer than 10 years on average (mean [SD], 10.59 [8.89] years) were included in the analyses. The Internet intervention is based on well-established face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy incorporating the primary components of sleep restriction, stimulus control, sleep hygiene, cognitive restructuring, and relapse prevention. The Insomnia Severity Index and daily sleep diary data were used to determine changes in insomnia severity and the main sleep variables, including wake after sleep onset and sleep efficiency. Intention-to-treat analyses showed that scores on the Insomnia Severity Index significantly improved from 15.73 (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.07 to 17.39) to 6.59 (95% CI, 4.73 to 8.45) for the Internet group but did not change for the control group (16.27 [95% CI, 14.61 to 17.94] to 15.50 [95% CI, 13.64 to 17.36]) (F(1,42) = 29.64; P < .001). The Internet group maintained their gains at the 6-month follow-up. Internet participants also achieved significant decreases in wake after sleep onset (55% [95% CI, 34% to 76%]) and increases in sleep efficiency (16% [95% CI, 9% to 22%]) compared with the nonsignificant control group changes of wake after sleep onset (8% [95% CI, -17% to 33%) and sleep efficiency (3%; 95% CI, -4% to 9%). Participants who received the Internet intervention for insomnia significantly improved their sleep, whereas the control group did not have a significant change. The Internet appears to have considerable potential in delivering a structured behavioral program for insomnia. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00328250.

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Shortfall in mental health service utilisation.

Chris Carter, Kathryn G Andrews, C Issakidis (2001)

Treatment coverage for mental disorders is poor in most developed countries. To explore some reasons for the poor treatment coverage for mental disorders in developed countries. Data were taken from Australian national surveys and from the World Health Report. Only one-third of people with a mental disorder consulted. Probability of consulting varied by diagnosis: 90% for schizophrenia, which is accounted for by external factors; 60% for depression; and 15% for substance use and personality disorders. The probability of consulting varied by gender, age, marital status and disability, from 73% among women aged 25-54 years, disabled and once married to 9% among males without these risk factors. Those who did not consult but were disabled or comorbid said that they "preferred to manage themselves". Data from five countries showed no evidence that overall health expenditure, out-of-pocket cost or responsiveness of the health system affected the overall consulting rates. Societal, attitudinal and diagnostic variables account for the variation. Funding does not. Public education about the recognition and treatment of mental disorders and the provision of effective treatment by providers might remedy the shortfall.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMC Psychiatry

Title: BMC Psychiatry

Publisher: BioMed Central

ISSN (Electronic): 1471-244X

Publication date Collection: 2011

Publication date (Electronic): 18 May 2011

Volume: 11

Page: 88

Affiliations

[1 ]Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

[2 ]Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute (APHCRI), Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

Article

Publisher ID: 1471-244X-11-88

DOI: 10.1186/1471-244X-11-88

PMC ID: 3123271

PubMed ID: 21592335

SO-VID: 19e969d6-2110-4d17-b4ff-33fa01413bd0

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Explicit and implicit information needs of people with depression: a qualitative investigation of problems reported on an online depression support forum

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Background

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Most cited references 24

Failure and delay in initial treatment contact after first onset of mental disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.

Efficacy of an Internet-based behavioral intervention for adults with insomnia.

Shortfall in mental health service utilisation.

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