George Warren Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Depress Anxiety. 2020 May;37(5):458-465. doi: 10.1002/da.22990. Epub 2020 Jan 13.
Individuals with depression may not seek treatment for their symptoms due to several types of barriers to treatment. In support of the growing research on mental health care access and the role of social media, this study aimed to increase knowledge of these barriers among social media users.
Participants were recruited from several social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr, and online depression forums. Eligible participants had endorsed having posted about feeling sad or depressed on social media, or followed social media groups that post about depression-related topics. Participants completed an online survey about their depression symptoms, interest in treatment, and potential barriers to accessing treatment.
Of the participants reaching criteria for depression, those with major depression were more likely to seek out treatment, to report an unmet need for treatment, and have a higher risk of suicide. For participants with major depression, barriers to treatment were more likely to be attitudinal, while participants with mild depression experienced more structural barriers.
This study demonstrates several barriers to treatment that occur for individuals struggling with depression, and that online platforms are effective mediums to recruit individuals with depression symptoms who seek mental health support.
由于存在多种治疗障碍，抑郁症患者可能不会因自身症状寻求治疗。为了支持越来越多的关于精神卫生保健可及性和社交媒体作用的研究，本研究旨在提高社交媒体用户对这些障碍的认识。
参与者从包括 Instagram、Facebook、Twitter、Reddit、Tumblr 和在线抑郁论坛在内的多个社交媒体平台招募。合格的参与者必须在社交媒体上发布过关于感到悲伤或抑郁的帖子，或关注过发布与抑郁相关主题的社交媒体群组。参与者完成了一项关于他们的抑郁症状、治疗兴趣和治疗可及性潜在障碍的在线调查。
在达到抑郁标准的参与者中，患有重度抑郁症的人更有可能寻求治疗，报告治疗需求未得到满足，并有更高的自杀风险。对于患有重度抑郁症的参与者来说，治疗障碍更可能是态度方面的，而患有轻度抑郁症的参与者则经历了更多的结构性障碍。
本研究表明，抑郁症患者存在多种治疗障碍，而在线平台是招募寻求心理健康支持的有抑郁症状个体的有效媒介。
