Attitudes toward seeking mental health services and use of mobile technology survey

Objective: This study aimed to understand Black American women’s attitudes
toward seeking mental health services and using mobile technology to
receive support for managing anxiety and depression. Methods: A
self-administered web-based questionnaire was launched in October 2019 and
closed in January 2020. Women who identify as Black/African American were
eligible to participate. The survey consisted of approximately 70
questions and covered topics such as attitudes toward seeking professional
psychological help, acceptability of using a mobile phone to receive
mental health care, and screening for anxiety and depression. Results -
Anxiety: The findings of the study (N=395) showed that younger Black women
were more likely to have greater severity of anxiety than their older
counterparts. Respondents were most comfortable with the use of a voice
call or video call to communicate with a professional to receive support
to manage anxiety in comparison to text messaging or mobile app. Younger
age, higher income, and greater scores for psychological openness and
help-seeking propensity increased the odds of indicating agreement with
using mobile technology to communicate with a professional. Black women in
the South region of the U.S. had twice the odds of agreeing to the use of
mobile apps than women in the Midwest and Northeast regions. Results -
Depression: The results showed that younger Black women were more likely
to have greater severity of depression than their older counterparts. The
results also revealed that Black women have favorable views toward seeking
mental health services. Respondents were the most comfortable with the use
of voice calls or video calls to communicate with a professional to
receive support for managing depression in comparison with SMS text
messaging or mobile apps. The results revealed that higher help-seeking
propensity increased the odds of indicating agreement with the use of
voice calls and video calls to communicate with a professional to receive
support for managing depression by 27% and 38%, respectively. However, no
statistically significant odds ratios (all P>.05) were found
between help-seeking propensity and respondents’ agreement to use mobile
apps or SMS text messaging. Moderate to severe depression severity
increased the odds of using mobile apps to communicate with a professional
to receive support for managing depression by 43%; however, no
statistically significant odds ratios existed for the other modalities.
Privacy and confidentiality, communication issues (eg, misinterpreting
text), and the impersonal feeling of communicating by mobile phone (eg,
SMS text messaging) were the primary concerns. Discussion: Black American
women, in general, have favorable views toward the use of mobile
technology to receive support to manage anxiety and depression.
Conclusion: Preferences and cultural appropriateness of resources should
be assessed on an individual basis to increase the likelihood of adoption
of and engagement with digital mental health interventions for management
of anxiety and depression.