Who seeks Internet-based interventions for depression in Brazil?

Abstract

Specific psychological treatments for depressive disorders delivered on the Internet have shown effectiveness and presented advantages over face-to-face treatments (potentially less expensive, flexible schedules, available in remote areas). This paper aims to describe the characteristics of those who sought help from an online self-guided intervention for depression and to explore hypotheses about predictors of enrollment to the program. Based on a sample of 282 of individuals who filled in screening questionnaires, we verified that the respondents were mainly female, were on average 34.36 years old, were primarily recruited through Facebook, had been previously diagnosed by mental health professionals, presented moderate self-efficacy perception, and had moderately severe symptoms of depression. Respondents who reported comorbid conditions were more likely to attend enrollment interviews, and being in treatment or not did not influence attendance. Such characterization may provide strategies to reach more people and to optimize the design of interventions targeting help-seeking depressed individuals in Brazil.

"Fast food psychology" or serious support: Brazilian migrant women talk about their experiences with digital tools for mental health in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…Participants were mainly recruited via social media, and most participants were woman, in their 30s, and already diagnosed with depression. This profile of participants was similar to other research evaluating the same DTMH in other countries (Lopes et al, 2021). This might be an indication of Brazilian women's openness to DTMH.…”

“…Consequently, I decided to expand my search and use Brazilian Portuguese terms as well as English. This strategy resulted in five additional studies conducted in Brazil (; Delgado et al, 2020;Faria et al, 2017;Lopes et al, 2021;Marinho et al, 2022;Volpi et al, 2021). These can also shed some light on Brazilian women's experiences and perceptions of digital tools.…”

“…One study investigated the profile of people who seek online help for their mental health in Brazil and the effectiveness of a DTMH named Deprexis (Lopes et al, 2021).…”