TY - JOUR
T1 - Facilitators of, barriers to, and preferences for e-mental health interventions for depression and anxiety in men
T2 - Metasynthesis and recommendations
AU - Opozda, Melissa J.
AU - Oxlad, Melissa
AU - Turnbull, Deborah
AU - Gupta, Himanshu
AU - Smith, James A.
AU - Ziesing, Samuel
AU - Nankivell, Murray E.
AU - Wittert, Gary
PY - 2024/2/1
Y1 - 2024/2/1
N2 - Background: Little is known about men's use of online mental health (eMH) interventions and factors that promote their engagement or attrition. We aimed to synthesise the qualitative literature on men's preferences for, attitudes towards, and experiences of using eMH interventions for depression and anxiety, and develop recommendations from the findings. Method: Systematic searches were conducted (Jan 2000-Oct 2020) in six databases; study quality was assessed using Qualsyst with a minimum total of 0.55 required for inclusion. Extracted data were synthesised using meta-aggregation. Results: Eight studies met inclusion criteria and three synthesised findings were generated. (1) Facilitators of men's eMH use: finding apps and technology motivating and convenient, support and encouragement from important others, and interventions allowing men to take action, gain control over their mental health, and resulting in positive outcomes; (2) Barriers to men's eMH use: lack of free time, predicted or experienced lack of benefit from use, and technical difficulties; (3) What men want in eMH: personalised, tailored, relevant interventions that are bright and easy to use, with information presented in multiple formats, psychoeducation, exercises, self-monitoring, information on further resources, and the option of clinician involvement, without any repetitive questioning, boring tools, or negative feedback. Limitations: All included studies were conducted in high income, ‘Western’ countries; most data related to experiences of using an existing eMH intervention within a trial, rather than in ‘real world’ settings where eMH acceptability is generally lower and experiences may differ. Conclusions: Practice, research, and policy recommendations are presented.
AB - Background: Little is known about men's use of online mental health (eMH) interventions and factors that promote their engagement or attrition. We aimed to synthesise the qualitative literature on men's preferences for, attitudes towards, and experiences of using eMH interventions for depression and anxiety, and develop recommendations from the findings. Method: Systematic searches were conducted (Jan 2000-Oct 2020) in six databases; study quality was assessed using Qualsyst with a minimum total of 0.55 required for inclusion. Extracted data were synthesised using meta-aggregation. Results: Eight studies met inclusion criteria and three synthesised findings were generated. (1) Facilitators of men's eMH use: finding apps and technology motivating and convenient, support and encouragement from important others, and interventions allowing men to take action, gain control over their mental health, and resulting in positive outcomes; (2) Barriers to men's eMH use: lack of free time, predicted or experienced lack of benefit from use, and technical difficulties; (3) What men want in eMH: personalised, tailored, relevant interventions that are bright and easy to use, with information presented in multiple formats, psychoeducation, exercises, self-monitoring, information on further resources, and the option of clinician involvement, without any repetitive questioning, boring tools, or negative feedback. Limitations: All included studies were conducted in high income, ‘Western’ countries; most data related to experiences of using an existing eMH intervention within a trial, rather than in ‘real world’ settings where eMH acceptability is generally lower and experiences may differ. Conclusions: Practice, research, and policy recommendations are presented.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Depression
KW - E-mental health
KW - Men
KW - Meta-synthesis
KW - Qualitative
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85176259583&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jad.2023.11.015
DO - 10.1016/j.jad.2023.11.015
M3 - Review article
C2 - 37949238
AN - SCOPUS:85176259583
SN - 0165-0327
VL - 346
SP - 75
EP - 87
JO - Journal of Affective Disorders
JF - Journal of Affective Disorders
ER -