Abstract
Digital mental health services (DMHSs) deliver mental health information, assessment, and treatment, via the internet, telephone, or other digital channels. The current study compares two DMHSs operating in Western Australia (WA)—The Practitioner Online Referral System (PORTS) and MindSpot. Both provide telephone and online psychological services at no cost to patients or referrers. However, PORTS is accessed by patients via referral from health practitioners, and is designed to reach those who are financially, geographically, or otherwise disadvantaged. In contrast, MindSpot services are available to all Australian residents and patients can self-refer. This observational study compares characteristics and treatment outcomes for patients of PORTS and MindSpot in WA. Eligible patients were people who resided in WA and registered with either clinic from January 2019 to December 2020. Results showed that PORTS patients were more likely to be older, male, and unemployed. They were less likely to report a tertiary education and were more likely to live in areas with higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. Despite these differences, treatment outcomes were excellent for patients from both clinics. Results provide further evidence for the accessibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of DMHSs regardless of referral pathway or patient characteristics.
Highlights
Mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression are significant public health issues worldwide [1,2] and can be exacerbated by barriers to care such as cost, stigma, and limited availability of services [3]
Many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses have shown that therapist-guided digital mental health services (DMHSs) are effective and acceptable to patients [6,7,8,9,10,11]
Results showed that PORTS was able to successfully engage otherwise hard to reach populations via primary care referral pathways
Summary
Mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression are significant public health issues worldwide [1,2] and can be exacerbated by barriers to care such as cost, stigma, and limited availability of services [3]. This is true in the current climate, with many traditional health care providers ceasing or reducing face-to-face service delivery because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions [4,5]. In a European study extending across six countries
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