Encouraging young men's participation in mental health research and treatment: perspectives in our technological age

Ellis, Louise A.; McCabe, Kathryn; Rahilly, Kitty; Nicholas, Mariesa; Davenport, Tracey A; Burns, Jane; Hickie, Ian B.

doi:10.4155/cli.14.61

Cited by 35 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Therefore, our findings cannot be assumed to relate to more distressed young adults, those less willing to take part or to males. Young adult males present a recruitment challenge to mental health researchers, and there are likely to be attitudinal and experiential factors specific to young men with type 1 diabetes that were not captured in our data. Future qualitative studies may benefit from sampling young men using methods with demonstrated effectiveness in research with other groups that are difficult to involve (eg low incidence and stigmatized groups).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Young adults, generally, are less likely to volunteer for psychosocial research for various pragmatic and lifestyle reasons including scheduling conflicts (due to work, education and other responsibilities), lack of interest and perceived personal irrelevance of the research focus and treatments . Recruitment of young adult men is complicated further by high mental health stigma, inadequate knowledge of mental health signs and symptoms, and privacy and confidentiality concerns . For researchers targeting young people with type 1 diabetes, low disease prevalence in the 15‐ to 24‐year‐age group (approximately 0.2%) is an additional recruitment barrier .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7,8 Recruitment of young adult men is complicated further by high mental health stigma, inadequate knowledge of mental health signs and symptoms, and privacy and confidentiality concerns. [9][10][11][12] For researchers targeting young people with type 1 diabetes, low disease prevalence in the 15-to 24-year-age group (approximately 0.2%) is an additional recruitment barrier. 6 Direct referral to psychosocial studies by health practitioners can be a valuable and cost-effective method for recruiting people with medical conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Attitudes towards mental health, mental health research and digital interventions by young adults with type 1 diabetes: A qualitative analysis

Clarke

Proudfoot

Vatiliotis

et al. 2018

Health Expectations

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundYoung people with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of mental disorders. Whereas treatment need is high, difficulty recruiting young people with type 1 diabetes into psychosocial studies complicates development, testing and dissemination of these interventions.ObjectiveInterviews with young adults with type 1 diabetes were conducted to examine attitudes towards mental health and mental health research, including barriers and motivators to participation in mental health studies and preferred sources of mental health support. The interviews were audio‐taped, transcribed and evaluated via thematic analysis.Setting and participantsYoung adults with type 1 diabetes were recruited via social media channels of 3 advocacy organizations. A total of 31 young adults (26 females and 5 males) with an average age of 22 years were interviewed between October 2015 and January 2016.ResultsParticipants were largely unaware of their increased vulnerability to common mental health problems and knew little about mental health research. Major barriers to participation included perceived stigma and lifestyle issues and low levels of trust in researchers. Opportunities to connect with peers and help others were described as key motivators. Psychological distress was considered normal within the context of diabetes. A need for some level of human contact in receiving psychosocial support was expressed.Discussion and conclusionFindings provide valuable insights into the complex dynamics of engaging young adults with type 1 diabetes in mental health studies. Interviewees provided practical suggestions to assist investigation and delivery of psychosocial interventions for this vulnerable group.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Attitudes towards mental health, mental health research and digital interventions by young adults with type 1 diabetes: A qualitative analysis

Clarke

Proudfoot

Vatiliotis

et al. 2018

Health Expectations

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Mental health programs delivered online (eHealth) and via mobile technology (mHealth) can overcome barriers to young people receiving mental health information and support, as these modalities are provided in a practical, anonymous, and cost-effective manner (8). Our project team has developed a smartphone app (HeadGear) to help improve the mental health and well-being of workers in male-dominated industries (9).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Utility of a Mental Health App in Apprentice Workers: A Pilot Study

Deady

Glozier

Collins

et al. 2020

Front. Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Young people are at heightened risk for mental health problems. Apprenticeships are common pathways into the workforce at a critical developmental period. However, in some cases the working conditions for apprentices present significant challenges to mental wellness. As apprentices are unlikely to utilize traditional services, eHealth and mHealth interventions are a useful means of delivering interventions to this group. The aim of the current paper is to: (1) qualitatively explore the utility of an existing mental health app within an apprentice population; and (2) evaluate the usability, acceptability, feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a modified version of the app (HeadGear Apprentice), designed to reduce depressive symptoms in an apprentice working population. Methods: Study One: Twenty-six apprentices (aged 18-30) took part in one of eight (90-min) focus groups. Participants explored the HeadGear app, took part in group discussions, and completed uMARS questionnaires. Modifications were made to the app based on feedback. Study Two: In the follow-up pilot testing, 47 apprentices downloaded and used the modified app over 30 days. Assessment occurred online at baseline, 5-weeks, and 3-months post-baseline. Feasibility was evaluated using consent rates, adherence and attrition. Acceptability was assessed using questionnaires and a post-study interview. Depression, anxiety, well-being, and work performance scores were used to assess preliminary efficacy. Results: Overall, the app was well-received in both studies, with high self-reported scores for acceptability and utility. However, engagement-both in terms of self-report and adherence-was an issue in both studies. In Study Two, users completed approximately one-third of the app's therapeutic content, with increased usage associated with improved outcomes. This had implications for the preliminary effectiveness of the app [depression as measured by the PHQ-9 Cohen's d = 0.27 (95%CI:-0.16-0.69)]. At follow-up users reported improvements in all outcomes, but overall only change in well-being reached statistical significance [Cohen's d = −0.29 (95%CI:-0.72-0.14)]. Deady et al. Apprentice M-Health App: Pilot Study Conclusion: Overall, findings from the two studies suggest that an eHealth tool, HeadGear Apprentice, was an acceptable and well-received intervention when adapted to young apprentices. However, questions remain regarding how to improve engagement and adherence to the program. These questions appear critical to effectiveness. The two studies also have implications for awareness raising in this population. Whilst preliminary results were encouraging, these improvements, along with a full-scale efficacy trial, are needed to better understand the utility of smartphone applications for mental health in this population. Trial registration: ACTRN12618001475235 https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/ Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=375875&isReview=true.

show abstract

“…The current study aimed to address these issues by 1) exploring the impact of different Facebook advertisement content for the same study on recruitment rates and engagement, and 2) examining whether the participants recruited from the different advertisements show systematic selection bias in their demographic and clinical characteristics. This study targeted men only because they are often a difficult group to recruit for mental health research using traditional methods ( Woodall et al, 2010 ), but there is encouraging research suggesting Facebook may increase their participation rate ( Ellis et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using different Facebook advertisements to recruit men for an online mental health study: Engagement and selection bias

Choi

Milne

Glozier

et al. 2017

Internet Interventions

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A growing number of researchers are using Facebook to recruit for a range of online health, medical, and psychosocial studies. There is limited research on the representativeness of participants recruited from Facebook, and the content is rarely mentioned in the methods, despite some suggestion that the advertisement content affects recruitment success. This study explores the impact of different Facebook advertisement content for the same study on recruitment rate, engagement, and participant characteristics. Five Facebook advertisement sets (“resilience”, “happiness”, “strength”, “mental fitness”, and “mental health”) were used to recruit male participants to an online mental health study which allowed them to find out about their mental health and wellbeing through completing six measures. The Facebook advertisements recruited 372 men to the study over a one month period. The cost per participant from the advertisement sets ranged from $0.55 to $3.85 Australian dollars. The “strength” advertisements resulted in the highest recruitment rate, but participants from this group were least engaged in the study website. The “strength” and “happiness” advertisements recruited more younger men. Participants recruited from the “mental health” advertisements had worse outcomes on the clinical measures of distress, wellbeing, strength, and stress. This study confirmed that different Facebook advertisement content leads to different recruitment rates and engagement with a study. Different advertisement also leads to selection bias in terms of demographic and mental health characteristics. Researchers should carefully consider the content of social media advertisements to be in accordance with their target population and consider reporting this to enable better assessment of generalisability.

show abstract

Encouraging young men's participation in mental health research and treatment: perspectives in our technological age

Cited by 35 publications

References 36 publications

Attitudes towards mental health, mental health research and digital interventions by young adults with type 1 diabetes: A qualitative analysis

Attitudes towards mental health, mental health research and digital interventions by young adults with type 1 diabetes: A qualitative analysis

The Utility of a Mental Health App in Apprentice Workers: A Pilot Study

Using different Facebook advertisements to recruit men for an online mental health study: Engagement and selection bias

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About