Development and pilot testing of an online training program for better use of internet to learn about depression and anxiety (BUILDA).

Abstract

Depression and anxiety are common issues among college students in the United States. Although college students routinely use the Internet for information regarding their mental health, they might lack the digital health literacy required to search, evaluate, and use Internet resources. A web-based short training program with four modules aimed to improve mental health literacy and digital health literacy for Better Use of Internet to Learn about Depression and Anxiety (BUILDA). BUILDA was tested in a pilot study with 10 undergraduate students who completed the program and provided feedback via online surveys and exit interviews. Participants completed a pretest and a post-test, which included health literacy instruments and realistic case scenarios to assess student knowledge and ability to search and use Internet information on mental health topics. Descriptive analyses and paired t-tests were used. Increased knowledge about mental health topics was observed in pilot participants, with improvement in mean values of depression literacy (P =. 01) and anxiety literacy (P =. 019) from pretest to post-test. Better Internet search performance was also observed as the number of participants who scored >90% in case scenarios increased from two pretest to five post-test. Students used more valid and reliable Internet resources after training, citing more government health agency websites (20% in the pretest and 25% in the post-test) and scholarly resources (6% in the pretest and 30% in the post-test). The pilot participants reported the BUILDA program was useful and provided minor suggestions regarding program improvement. It was feasible to deliver a short training program via a simple website to help students develop mental health literacy and digital health skills.