Mental health promotion in the Internet age: a consultation with Australian young people to inform the design of an online mindfulness training programme

Abstract

SUMMARYMindfulness training (MT) has been shown to lead to significant improvements in psychological distress and emotion regulation skills. The Internet has many advantages as a medium for building emotional skills in young people. The aim of this study was to involve young people in designing an online MT programme. A draft programme was initially designed based on a review of the literature and an established face-to-face programme for medical students. Twenty young people were then recruited through online advertising and 13 (age 16-26) interviewed. They were asked to comment on how useful, easy to use and enjoyable they found the proposed programme and how the draft version and its planned evaluation strategy could be improved. Interviewee responses were independently processed by two of the authors within a qualitative thematic analysis paradigm. The results showed that young people were eager to engage with the design of this health promotion programme and provided valuable input. All interviewees believed that young people would find the programme desirable. They provided a variety of suggestions about how training structure and content could be improved, how best it could be evaluated and how young people could be encouraged to engage with and complete the programme. It thus appears that online MT is a feasible mental health promotion strategy for young people and that it can be evaluated in a controlled trial. The result of this consultation process was the Mindful Awareness Training and Education (MATE) programme, which has been detailed.

Evaluation of a Mindfulness-Based Mobile App Aimed at Promoting Awareness of Weight-Related Behaviors in Adolescents: A Pilot Study

“…The mobile app successfully delivered videos, which were typically viewed in less than 10 minutes every day for 6 weeks, to participants using an existing app platform. The mindfulness app was rated as an acceptable and useful program by participants, potentially providing greater reach to teens, a demographic who have expressed preference for virtual mindfulness-based health promotion programs [18]. Both comments and ratings support the app as a potential way to improve eating behaviors, encourage guided physical activity practices, facilitate sleep initiation, and improve overall well-being.…”

“…Research also confirms mobile health (mHealth) interventions are feasible and acceptable approaches in the prevention and treatment of pediatric obesity [17], and teens report a preference for virtual mindfulness-based health promotion programs [18]. We are unaware of mHealth programs focused on mindfulness to increase awareness of weight-related behaviors in adolescents.…”

Online Mental Health Resources in Rural Australia: Clinician Perceptions of Acceptability

“…The “technology acceptance” model proposes that the perceived usability and perceived usefulness of a technological aid will determine the extent to which it is accepted and adopted [41]. This model has been cited in previous literature relating to consumer acceptance of online mental health resources [42]; it may also be relevant in understanding acceptance and adoption by clinicians. However, it should also be noted that perceptions of “usability” are contextual and may differ between clinicians, clients, and website developers [40].…”

Mindfulness online: an evaluation of the feasibility of a web-based mindfulness course for stress, anxiety and depression

“…One RCT found that an automated internet-based therapy including CBT and mindfulness actually had better outcomes for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) than the comparative online therapist-led intervention, suggesting that the effects of internet interventions cannot be attributed to, and do not rely on, therapist interaction 43. Studies are finding that online mindfulness courses can be beneficial for depression in samples with IBS and epilepsy and anxiety symptoms in a non-clinical sample comparing a 3-week mindfulness course with positive psychology interventions and treatment as usual (see Monshat38 for a review). Although previous studies have found that an online mindfulness course can decrease anxiety and depressive symptoms, so far no research has examined the change in a non-clinical sample using an online mindfulness course based directly on MBSR and MBCT courses.…”