Roystonn Kumarasan, Vaingankar Janhavi Ajit, Chua Boon Yiang, Sambasivam Rajeswari, Shafie Saleha, Jeyagurunathan Anitha, Verma Swapna, Abdin Edimansyah, Chong Siow Ann, Subramaniam Mythily
Research Division, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, Singapore.
Clinical Education, Office of Education, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
JMIR Ment Health. 2020 Aug 4;7(8):e18114. doi: 10.2196/18114.
The wide mental health treatment gap continues to pose a global and local public health challenge. Online support groups are on the rise and could be used to complement formal treatment services for mental health.
This study aimed to examine the prevalence of online support group use and explore factors associated with the use in the general population using data from a national cross-sectional mental health survey in Singapore.
Singapore residents aged 18 years and above participated in a nationally representative household survey in which the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 was administered by trained interviewers to examine the use of online support groups for mental health. Multiple logistic regressions were used to analyze the association of online support group use with various sociodemographic and health factors.
A total of 6110 respondents with complete data were included in this study. Overall, 10 individuals per 1000 adults (1%) reported seeking help from online support groups for their mental health problems. Compared to younger adults (those aged 18 to 34 years) and those with university education, individuals aged 50 to 64 years (P<.001; OR 0.1, 95% CI 0.0-0.3) and those with preuniversity qualifications (P=.02; OR 0.1, 95% CI 0.0-0.8) were less likely to use online support groups for mental health, respectively. Participants with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) mental disorder were 6.8 times more likely (P<.001; 95% CI 3.0-15.4) to use an online support group; in particular, individuals with major depressive disorder (P<.001; OR 5.4, 95% CI 2.1-13.8) and obsessive compulsive disorder (P=.01; OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.3-9.7) were more likely to use an online support group for their mental health.
Online support groups could be used to complement formal treatment services, especially for mood and anxiety-related disorders. As online support group use for mental health issues may be more prevalent among younger people, early detection and accurate information in online support groups may guide individuals toward seeking professional help for their mental health problems.
广泛存在的心理健康治疗差距持续构成全球和本地的公共卫生挑战。在线支持小组正在兴起，可用于补充心理健康的正规治疗服务。
本研究旨在利用新加坡一项全国性横断面心理健康调查的数据，调查在线支持小组的使用 prevalence，并探索普通人群中与使用相关的因素。
18岁及以上的新加坡居民参与了一项具有全国代表性的家庭调查，由经过培训的访员进行世界卫生组织综合国际诊断访谈3.0，以调查心理健康在线支持小组的使用情况。采用多元逻辑回归分析在线支持小组使用与各种社会人口学和健康因素之间的关联。
本研究共纳入6110名数据完整的受访者。总体而言，每1000名成年人中有10人（1%）报告因心理健康问题向在线支持小组寻求帮助。与年轻成年人（18至34岁）和受过大学教育的人相比，50至64岁的人（P<0.001；OR 0.1，95%CI 0.0-0.3）和具有大学预科资格的人（P=0.02；OR 0.1，95%CI 0.0-0.8）分别不太可能使用心理健康在线支持小组。患有《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第四版（DSM-IV）精神障碍的参与者使用在线支持小组的可能性高6.8倍（P<0.001；95%CI 3.0-15.4）；特别是，患有重度抑郁症的人（P<0.001；OR 5.4，95%CI 2.1-13.8）和强迫症患者（P=0.01；OR 3.5，95%CI 1.3-9.7）更有可能使用在线支持小组来解决他们的心理健康问题。
在线支持小组可用于补充正规治疗服务，特别是对于与情绪和焦虑相关的障碍。由于在线支持小组在心理健康问题上的使用在年轻人中可能更为普遍，在线支持小组中的早期发现和准确信息可能会引导个人为其心理健康问题寻求专业帮助。
