Youth Mental Health Services Utilization Rates After a Large-Scale Social Media Campaign: Population-Based Interrupted Time-Series Analysis

Booth, Richard; Allen, Britney; Jenkyn, Krista M Bray; Li, Lihua; Shariff, Salimah Z.

doi:10.2196/mental.8808

Cited by 40 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Twitter is a tool for developing interventions and strategies of information aimed at modifying health-related social and individual behaviors [63]. Our results support the dynamic and potentially positive evolution of the social stigmatization of health disorders, as can be observed in HIV infection and cancer.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Areas of Interest and Stigmatic Attitudes of the General Public in Five Relevant Medical Conditions: Thematic and Quantitative Analysis Using Twitter

Álvarez-Mon¹,

Llavero-Valero²,

Sánchez-Bayona³

et al. 2019

J Med Internet Res

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Background Twitter is an indicator of real-world performance, thus, is an appropriate arena to assess the social consideration and attitudes toward psychosis. Objective The aim of this study was to perform a mixed-methods study of the content and key metrics of tweets referring to psychosis in comparison with tweets referring to control diseases (breast cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer, and human immunodeficiency virus). Methods Each tweet’s content was rated as nonmedical (NM: testimonies, health care products, solidarity or awareness and misuse) or medical (M: included a reference to the illness’s diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, or prevention). NM tweets were classified as positive or pejorative. We assessed the appropriateness of the medical content. The number of retweets generated and the potential reach and impact of the hashtags analyzed was also investigated. Results We analyzed a total of 15,443 tweets: 8055 classified as NM and 7287 as M. Psychosis-related tweets (PRT) had a significantly higher frequency of misuse 33.3% (212/636) vs 1.15% (853/7419; P <.001) and pejorative content 36.2% (231/636) vs 11.33% (840/7419; P <.001). The medical content of the PRT showed the highest scientific appropriateness 100% (391/391) vs 93.66% (6030/6439; P <.001) and had a higher frequency of content about disease prevention. The potential reach and impact of the tweets related to psychosis were low, but they had a high retweet-to-tweet ratio. Conclusions We show a reduced number and a different pattern of contents in tweets about psychosis compared with control diseases. PRT showed a predominance of nonmedical content with increased frequencies of misuse and pejorative tone. However, the medical content of PRT showed high scientific appropriateness aimed toward prevention.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Areas of Interest and Stigmatic Attitudes of the General Public in Five Relevant Medical Conditions: Thematic and Quantitative Analysis Using Twitter

Álvarez-Mon¹,

Llavero-Valero²,

Sánchez-Bayona³

et al. 2019

J Med Internet Res

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“…Lay dissemination of the findings of this study might help young depressed people feel more understood by those in their social networks and suggest ways in which others can support them appropriately. There is evidence that social media campaigns focussed on mental health awareness and stigma reduction can promote help-seeking for mental illness, but this is thought to be attributable to wider societal awareness in creating environments where it is acceptable to disclose mental illness [ 66 ]. Creating a culture in which it is more acceptable to disclose mental ill-health has the potential to interrupt the vicious cycle of social withdrawal giving rise to loneliness and thereby worsening mood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The experience of loneliness among young people with depression: a qualitative meta-synthesis of the literature

Achterbergh

Pitman

Birken³

et al. 2020

BMC Psychiatry

124

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Background: Young people have a higher prevalence of loneliness than other age groups, and they are also at risk of depression. Quantitative studies describe a bidirectional association between loneliness and depression, but there is limited understanding of how these influence each other. Little is known about the experience of loneliness among young people with depression. Qualitative approaches may help understand the relationship between loneliness and depression among young people, and how to intervene to improve outcomes. We aimed to conduct a meta-synthesis to understand the complex interrelationship between loneliness and depression among young depressed people by synthesising evidence from a systematic review of qualitative studies. Methods: We conducted a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies capturing experiences of loneliness among young people with depression. We systematically searched six electronic databases for selected search terms, critically appraised eligible studies, and analysed the data from included studies using the approach of thematic synthesis. We used feedback from an inter-disciplinary research workshop to improve reflexivity. Results: Our inclusion criteria identified fourteen studies. Our analysis identified four themes: (1) social withdrawal due to poor mental health, (2) non-disclosure of depression contributing to social distance, (3) the desire to connect, and (4) paradoxes of loneliness and depression. These themes illustrated a range of pathways between depression and loneliness, and a sense of how these might be mutually reinforcing. Our findings suggest that where depressed individuals engage in certain behaviours (withdrawing; not confiding) for a range of reasons, this can lead to feelings of loneliness, an awareness of which worsens their mood, thus perpetuating their depression. Conclusions: Young people with depression experience loneliness as an insurmountable distance between themselves and others. Our findings identified non-disclosure of depression, and the debilitating nature of the depressive symptomatology, as factors perpetuating a vicious cycle of loneliness and depression. They suggest that approaches to tackling the problem might include helping young people communicate about their depression to trusted friends and educating their social networks in how to support them. The wider research literature suggests that cognitive interventions may have a role in shifting maladaptive cognitions about their social world.

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“…In addition, hikikomori’s core symptoms make social media a valuable tool to reach these patients [27]. As it has been shown that interventions in Twitter can modify health-related behavior [52], this platform could be a good scenario to promote a healthy lifestyle among at-risk individuals and encourage hikikomori patients to get in touch with offline health providers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Extent of the Hikikomori Phenomenon on Twitter: Mixed Methods Study of Western Language Tweets

Pereira-Sánchez¹,

Álvarez-Mon²,

Barco³

et al. 2019

J Med Internet Res

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Background Hikikomori is a severe form of social withdrawal, originally described in Japan but recently reported in other countries. Debate exists as to what extent hikikomori is viewed as a problem outside of the Japanese context. Objective We aimed to explore perceptions about hikikomori outside Japan by analyzing Western language content from the popular social media platform, Twitter. Methods We conducted a mixed methods analysis of all publicly available tweets using the hashtag #hikikomori between February 1 and August 16, 2018, in 5 Western languages (Catalan, English, French, Italian, and Spanish). Tweets were first classified as to whether they described hikikomori as a problem or a nonproblematic phenomenon. Tweets regarding hikikomori as a problem were then subclassified in terms of the type of problem (medical, social, or anecdotal) they referred to, and we marked if they referenced scientific publications or the presence of hikikomori in countries other than Japan. We also examined measures of interest in content related to hikikomori, including retweets, likes, and associated hashtags. Results A total of 1042 tweets used #hikikomori, and 656 (62.3%) were included in the content analysis. Most of the included tweets were written in English (44.20%) and Italian (34.16%), and a majority (56.70%) discussed hikikomori as a problem. Tweets referencing scientific publications (3.96%) and hikikomori as present in countries other than Japan (13.57%) were less common. Tweets mentioning hikikomori outside Japan were statistically more likely to be retweeted ( P =.01) and liked ( P =.01) than those not mentioning it, whereas tweets with explicit scientific references were statistically more retweeted ( P =.01) but not liked ( P =.10) than those without that reference. Retweet and like figures were not statistically significantly different among other categories and subcategories. The most associated hashtags included references to Japan, mental health, and the youth. Conclusions Hikikomori is a repeated word in non-Japanese Western languages on Twitter, suggesting the presence of hikikomori in countries outside Japan. Most tweets treat hikikomori as a problem, but the ways they post about it are highly heterogeneous.

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Youth Mental Health Services Utilization Rates After a Large-Scale Social Media Campaign: Population-Based Interrupted Time-Series Analysis

Cited by 40 publications

References 35 publications

Areas of Interest and Stigmatic Attitudes of the General Public in Five Relevant Medical Conditions: Thematic and Quantitative Analysis Using Twitter

Areas of Interest and Stigmatic Attitudes of the General Public in Five Relevant Medical Conditions: Thematic and Quantitative Analysis Using Twitter

The experience of loneliness among young people with depression: a qualitative meta-synthesis of the literature

Exploring the Extent of the Hikikomori Phenomenon on Twitter: Mixed Methods Study of Western Language Tweets

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