Abstract

BackgroundUniversity students have a higher prevalence rate of depression than the average 18 to 24 year old. Internet self-help has been demonstrated to be effective in decreasing self-rated measures of depression in this population, so it is important to explore the awareness, access and use of such self-help resources in this population.ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to explore university students’ awareness, access and use of Internet self-help websites for depression and related problems.MethodsA total of 2691 university students were surveyed at 3 time points.ResultsWhen asked about browsing behavior, 69.6% (1494/2146) of students reported using the Internet for entertainment. Most students were not familiar with self-help websites for emotional health, although this awareness increased as they completed further assessments. Most students considered user-friendliness, content and interactivity as very important in the design of a self-help website. After being exposed to a self-help website, more students reported visiting websites for emotional health than those who had not been exposed.ConclusionsMore students reported visiting self-help websites after becoming aware of such resources. Increased awareness of depression and related treatment resources may increase use of such resources. It is important to increase public awareness with the aim of increasing access to targeted strategies for young people.

Highlights

  • The purpose of this study is to explore university students’ awareness, access and use of Internet self-help websites for depression and related problems in a sample of university students in the 18 to 24 year age group

  • This age group has a high prevalence of depression and university students have been found to have an even higher prevalence rate than the average 18 to 24 year old (20% compared with 10%, respectively) [1]

  • Previous studies have shown that a higher level of education predicted treatment-seeking behavior [9] and the results of this study may support those findings as university students have shown a willingness to access Internet self-help

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Summary

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to explore university students’ awareness, access and use of Internet self-help websites for depression and related problems in a sample of university students in the 18 to 24 year age group. This age group has a high prevalence of depression and university students have been found to have an even higher prevalence rate than the average 18 to 24 year old (20% compared with 10%, respectively) [1]. Internet self-help has been demonstrated to be effective in decreasing self-rated measures of depression in this population, so it is important to explore the awareness, access and use of such self-help resources in this population

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