A 24-hour online youth emotional support: Opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Suicide is a major global health problem with more than 80 0,0 0 0 deaths each year. It is the leading cause of death amongst the youth and they are always the ones who are difficult to engage [ 1 , 2 ]. Suicide and crisis hotlines are generally considered to be efficient and viable mechanisms by which to respond to the needs of suicidal individuals and those in mental health crisis, and direct them to suitable resources [3]. Young people have reported finding online and mobile interventions to be acceptable, low effort, and useful [4]. Most importantly, online support allows young people to remain anonymous and thus reduce the risk of being identified and stigmatized [5]. Given the current lack of engagement of young people with suicide crisis hotlines, and their preference for social media, Hong Kong has launched an innovative online crisis support service model Jockey Club Online Youth Emotional Support-Open Up to better engage young people in distress [6]. The Open Up was launched in October 2018 to provide the first known textbased, synchronous online counselling and crisis intervention service in Hong Kong targeting young people aged 11-35 [6]. The service was co-created by three local service providers (Caritas Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, and The Boys' & Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong), and one academic research team (the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong). The initiative was funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. The unique features of Open Up include : (i) one online chat platform , the five incoming channels (FB messenger, SMS, WeChat, WhatsApp, and the official web portal) are integrated and unified into one platform with a service operation control panel consoli-* Corresponding author.

Change in suicidal ideation and associated factors among young adults in Hong Kong from 2018 to 2019: a latent transition analysis

“…The study sample originated from an online survey of a youth emotional support (Open Up) project for the young people [ 42 ]. Two waves of data were collected in the survey in 2018 and 2019.…”

Typology and Impact of YouTube Videos Posted in Response to a Student Suicide Crisis: Social Media Metrics and Content Analyses

“…As disclosed in the comments of the student suicide videos, there were users who were at risk of suicide or indicated willingness to help with suicide prevention activities. For the former, suicide prevention professionals can work with the KOLs to engage vulnerable individuals and refer them to suicide prevention services such as online 24/7 emotional support services [ 18 ]. For the latter, they can be engaged as gatekeepers to promote suicide prevention in the online social network or within their own social circles.…”

Detecting premature departure in online text-based counseling using logic-based pattern matching

“…This study analyzed anonymous session data from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Open Up , a 24/7 online text-based counseling service designed specifically to cater to youngsters experiencing emotional distress ( Yip et al, 2020 ). Users of Open Up chat anonymously, without charge, with professional counselors and trained volunteers via the service's web portal, SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook messenger, or WeChat.…”

“…Online text-based counseling has the advantage of the ease of access and anonymity. It has great potential to provide timely emotional support to those in need ( Hoermann et al, 2017 ; Reynolds et al, 2013 ; Yip et al, 2020 ). It is particularly apt for those who might have limited access to or are less willing to use traditional face-to-face services, especially among youth.…”