online mental health services survey 2015

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Online Mental Health Services information:

On-site survey results

Customer Insight Public Information

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Executive summary

• NHS Choices has a page outlining some online mental health

services and how they can be accessed: http://www.nhs.uk/

conditions/online-mental-health-services/Pages/introduction.aspx

• A survey was created to investigate:

– How people are finding their way to the information

– What they think of the information and whether they think anything can be improved

– Whether they may investigate the tools further

– Their opinions on the NHS endorsing online tools and services

• Respondents accessed the survey via a pop up lightbox invitation when they landed on the online mental health services page

• The survey ran from May 18th 2015 to June 15th 2015

• 544 respondents completed the survey


http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/online-mental-health-services/Pages/introduction.aspx












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Executive summary

• 85% of all respondents were looking for information for themselves from their visit to Choices

• In terms of what information they were specifically looking for:

– 61% had been looking for information around mental health symptoms

– 9% were looking for information on general mental health services and treatments

– 4% were specifically looking for online tools around mental health

– 2% had followed a link seen on Facebook or Twitter*

• 58% claimed to have come to through to the online mental health services page via Google or another search engine, while 16% came through the on site search


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Executive summary

• 28% (145 respondents)claimed they had heard of online mental health services before landing on the page

– 25% of these 145 respondents claimed to have come across them in previous google searches (7% of the total sample)

– 15% said their GP had told them about them (4% of the total sample)

– 12% said they had come across them on NHS websites (3% of the total sample)

• However, the 145 respondents were unsure of what tools they had heard of before

• 15% mentioned having heard of online CBT

• 4% mentioned Moodgym

• 67% of all 544 respondents claimed they would definitely or probably visit the websites offering the services/tools

• 20% said they were unsure or probably would not visit the websites.

– The majority of these people did not have a specific reason why, but 4% specifically mentioned an issue with the information on the page and/or the costs of the services


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• 57% of all the respondents felt there was nothing missing or unclear from the page, while 29% were not sure or would need more exploration of the page before they could answer

• 7% had specific comments to make about the page and the services themselves. They mention issues with

– the layout of the page

– understanding mental health referrals more generally

• 93% of all respondents claimed it was very important or important that the NHS endorsed digital/online health tools and services

– 33% said this was because they felt that they could trust anything the NHS endorsed and that it would have been subjected to any relevant tests and checks

– 30% spoke more about the benefits of the NHS offering such tools and services online in terms of the

• convenience for users

• the confidence and help online tools can provide to users

Executive summary


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• 36% of all respondents claim to learn about digital/online apps and tools from friends and family

• 26% learn about them from app stores

• 21% learn about them from general online searching

• 21% claim to not use digital/online tools and apps

Executive summary


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Survey results in full


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Why exactly are you visiting NHS Choices today?

Base: 544 respondents

This word cloud shows the keywords used by respondents to describe the reason they visited Choices the day they took the survey

– researching Anxiety and Depression were key reasons for visiting the site


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• 61% were investigating mental health symptoms or a specific mental health condition

• 9% were generally researching information around mental health services and treatment while 4% were specifically researching self help and coping strategies around mental health

Help reducing anxiety and relieving depressive thoughts

To read about mental health and illnesses that I think I have

To find out more information about Self Harm, Anxiety,

Depression and Eating Disorders

Mental health services and what is the right procedure to get help

To find out about therapies that may be available for depression

and anxiety

Looking at self help for stress and anxiety


Base: 544 respondents Customer Insight Public Information

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To look at free online CBT resources

I googled "mental health apps" and it was one of the results

…whether I can receive online counselling services to assist me

to deal with worry which is making me feel ill.

To check online help for anxiety

4% were specifically looking for information around online mental health tools, whilst an addition 2% said they followed a link on Facebook or Twitter



I want to know what this online service is. I had never heard of

such a thing until I saw it on nhs choices facebook a couple of

weeks ago

Googling mental health apps, following a prescription of anti

depressants for low mood


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Person respondents were looking on behalf of* % (Base: 544)

For myself 85%

For my spouse/partner 3%

For a child (under 16) 2%

For an older child (16 or over) 2%

For a friend or other relative 2%

For a parent 0.6%

For a sibling 0.2%

As a health professional (e.g. checking ratings for a surgery/the local area, to get information for my patient)

3%

As a professional looking for someone else as part of my job (e.g. librarian, local authority)

2%

Other professional use (e.g. journalists, research, teaching) 2%

Were you mainly using the site today for yourself, for someone else, or professionally?

The majority of respondents were looking for information for themselves


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1%

2%

3%

4%

4%

6%

6%

16%

58%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Address bookmarked/favourite

Link from an email

Other

Typed in the address

Link from a website

Link from another page on the NHS Choices site

Via a link from Facebook/Twitter/other socialnetworking site

Through the NHS Choices site search

Via Google or another search engine

How did you get to this page on the NHS Choices site today?

The majority of respondents came to the online mental health services page through Google or another search engine


13 Base: 401 respondents (78% through google, 22% through on-site search)*

103 people used anxiety as a search term

79 people used depression as a

search term

47 people used NHS as a search term

For those who came to the page via search engine or on- site search: How did you go about carrying out that search?

This word cloud shows the key search terms respondents reported that they used in the search that eventually lead them to the online mental health services page

- Again Anxiety and Depression were key words


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What is your previous knowledge of online mental health tools and services ?

28% of all respondents (145 people) claimed that they had heard of online mental health services and tools before the survey


6%

6%

1%

1%

1%

1%

2%

3%

3%

3%

5%

6%

6%

7%

12%

15%

25%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Don't know

Other

Previous use

Community Mental Health Teams

Email

Printed materials

NHS (No specific mention of website)

School or UNI

Social media

News

Counselling/therapists

Mental health experts/Mental health charities and other health profs

Employer/work

Friends and relatives

NHS website

GP

Google


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What online mental health service/tools had they heard of before?

The 28% of respondents that claimed to have heard of online mental health tended to struggle to actually name any online mental health services or tools. Of these respondents;

• 26% said they could not actually name a tool or service

• 21% named tools and services that do not appear to be online offerings

• 15% said they had heard of online CBT

• 4% recalled Moodgym

• 3% recalled Mindgym

• 3% recalled Moodzone

• 2% Beating the Blues

• 2% Big White Wall


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13%

38%

29%

19%

1% 0% 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

I alreadyhave done

Definitely Probably Not sure Probably not Definitelynot

How likely are you to visit the online mental health services/tools websites listed on this page?

67% of respondents would definitely or probably go onto visit the online mental health service and tools listed on the page


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38% of all respondents (205 people) said they would definitely visit the services and tools mentioned on the page for the following reasons: • 46% needed help, so this was worth a try • 21% were attracted specifically to online help

• 12% needed to find out more about the specific techniques (but were not specific as to whether there was any more info the page could have given them)

• 6% would follow up with these services because they trusted NHS recommendations

• 3% because the information on the page had been good

I like the idea of an online resource I can use anytime

without necessarily needing a GP visit

Because it's available 24/7 unlike my GP surgery and

people with depression and anxiety don't like change or

uncomfortable talking to someone new

It might be easier to carry out….rather than going to a

group meeting

Why would you definitely visit the services and tools mentioned on the page?


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29% (156 people) said they would probably visit the services and tools mentioned on the page for the following reasons: • 19% felt the services and tools were worth a try and could work for them

• 17% needed to find out more information about the services before knowing whether they would visit them (but respondents did not suggest there was anything else the page could have given them to help with this)

• 16% would probably visit them as they need help at this moment in time

• 12% did not have a reason for their answer

• 10% had not had enough time to read the page before they were asked the question

anything helps, its worth giving it a try and I think the nhs website is trustworthy

I have been let down when trying to get help before so

have to find something suitable myself online

Desperate to try anything

Why would you probably visit the services and tools mentioned on the page?


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20% (107 people) said they were not sure or probably wouldn’t visit the services and tools mentioned on the page for the following reasons: • 38% did not have a reason why

• 22% needed to read more of the page or more about the tools and services before they could give an

answer

• 7% would prefer to investigate other approaches: some of these respondents felt they were not online enough to use therapies like this

• 6% felt unsure about the efficacy of online techniques and whether they would work for their personal

situation

• 4% had issues with the information on the page and/or the costs that were mentioned

I prefer face to face not good with computer Not sure as not online

all the time

Why are you unsure about visiting the services and tools mentioned on the page?

I don't understand all the abbreviations or want to

have to keep following links

Am put off by the fact there is a charge for many of the

services


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• 57% felt the information on the page was fine

• 16% felt they had not looked at enough of the page to answer this question

• 13% said they simply did not know

• 7% had comments about the page and or questions that had been sparked off by it


Not sure why you need referral from GP to use online services,

defeats the purpose if someone is too embarrassed to

visit GP

There are lots of 'brands' listed on the page I have just visited - when already feeling anxious,

this is quite a lot to take in

I think the Silvercloud programme might help me, but it just says

'contact your local mental health team' to see if it's available in my area. I don't know how the NHS works and who my local mental

health team is

..It is written as if people already know how the NHS

works and know what all the abbreviations are and already understand what the services

are…

Is any information missing from or unclear on the online mental health services/tool page?

maybe add steps on how to access [services] e.g .flow

charts for people who want to see options, including using

online with support from nhs


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65%

28%

6% 0% 1%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Very important Important Neitherimportant norunimportant

Unimportant Veryunimportant


How important is NHS endorsement of digital/online health tools like this? Please indicate on the scale below.

93% of respondents felt that NHS endorsement of digital/online health tools was very important or important


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Of the 93% who said that NHS endorsement is very important or important • 33% said this was because they felt that they could trust anything the NHS endorsed and that it

would have been subjected to any relevant tests and checks

• 30% talked more about why it is important to offer online services and tools: they are convenient and confidential, and sometimes the preferred way for people to look into their health

Gives me confidence it's good quality and properly run and not

just a purely commercial enterprise

I need reassurance that I am using something that is safe and

effective

I have confidence that NHS endorsement gives credibility

people who are afraid to talk to people or need additional

support they can use this It’s 24/7

Important so you can help different people with

different problems and different needs of support


What are your reasons for saying that NHS endorsements are very important/important?


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36%

26%

21%

18%

2%

6%

21%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Recommendationfrom friends and

family

App stores General onlinesearching

Newspaper andmagazine articles

Social media Other I don't usedigital/online tools

and apps


How do you normally learn about digital/online tools and apps?


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online mental health services survey 2015

Healthcare