Abstract
BackgroundThe past few decades have seen an exponential increase in using mobile phones to support medical care (mobile health [mHealth]) among people living with psychosis worldwide, yet little is known about WeChat use and WeChat-based mHealth among people living with schizophrenia (PLS) in China.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess WeChat use, endorsement of WeChat-based mHealth programs, and health related to WeChat use among PLS.MethodsWe recruited a random sample of 400 PLS from 12 communities in Changsha City of Hunan Province, China. WeChat use was assessed using the adapted WeChat Use Intensity Questionnaire (WUIQ). We also compared psychiatric symptoms, functioning, disability, recovery, quality of life, and general well-being between WeChat users and nonusers using one-to-one propensity-score matching.ResultsThe WeChat use rate was 40.8% in this sample (163/400); 30.7% (50/163) had more than 50 WeChat friends and nearly half (81/163, 49.7%) spent more than half an hour on WeChat, a pattern similar to college students and the elderly. PLS also showed higher emotional connectedness to WeChat use than college students. About 80.4% (131/163) of PLS were willing to participate in a WeChat-based mHealth program, including psychoeducation (91/163, 55.8%), professional support (82/163, 50.3%), and peer support (67/163, 41.1%). Compared with nonusers, WeChat users were younger, better educated, and more likely to be employed. WeChat use was associated with improved health outcomes, including lower psychiatric symptoms, lower depression, higher functioning, better recovery, and higher quality of life.ConclusionsWeChat-based mHealth programs hold promise as an empowering tool to provide cost-effective interventions, to foster global recovery, and to improve both physical and mental well-being among PLS. WeChat and WeChat-based mHealth programs have the potential to offer a new path to recovery and well-being for PLS in China.
Highlights
People living with schizophrenia (PLS) are individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, which is a disturbance of thought, perception, and a blunting of affect, which can be characterized by 3 major symptoms: psychosis, cognitive dysfunction, and negative symptoms [1,2]
The time people living with schizophrenia (PLS) spent on WeChat daily was comparable to college students, but the percentage of PLS spending more than 30 minutes daily on WeChat was lower than that of the elderly (81/163, 49.7% vs 27/35, 77.1%)
Comparisons on emotional attachment to WeChat were only available for college students, but these showed that PLS generally reported higher emotional attachment to WeChat than college students, with higher mean scores in all 5 items of the emotional attachment to WeChat subscale
Summary
People living with schizophrenia (PLS) are individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, which is a disturbance of thought, perception, and a blunting of affect, which can be characterized by 3 major symptoms: psychosis, cognitive dysfunction, and negative symptoms [1,2]. The use of mobile phones and the internet among PLS is similar to that in the general population [5]. The past few decades have seen an exponential increase in using mobile phones to support medical care (mobile health [mHealth]) among people living with psychosis worldwide, yet little is known about WeChat use and WeChat-based mHealth among people living with schizophrenia (PLS) in China. WeChat use was associated with improved health outcomes, including lower psychiatric symptoms, lower depression, higher functioning, better recovery, and higher quality of life. Conclusions: WeChat-based mHealth programs hold promise as an empowering tool to provide cost-effective interventions, to foster global recovery, and to improve both physical and mental well-being among PLS.
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