Mental health-related internet use by people with a diagnosis of chronic psychiatric disorder, attending community mental health centres

Background

There is little information on Internet use for obtaining mental health information among individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders, who are receiving services from community mental health centres (CMHCs).

Objective

To investigate the mental health information-seeking behaviour of individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders who attend CMHCs.

Method

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. The data was collected by questionnaire (structured interview format) (n = 135 participants). The collected data were analysed with descriptive statistics and chi-square test.

Results

It was found that 75.6% of the participants used the internet to search for information about mental health problems. Although the information retrieved from the internet was frequently or occasionally shared with the mental health team (19.6% and 40.2% of the participants, respectively), general online communication with professionals was rare (93.1% of the participants had not contacted mental health professionals).

Conclusions

Most participants looked for information about their mental health on the internet. Therefore, mental health professionals should consider how to facilitate professional-patient therapeutic communication, with acknowledged Internet use by individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders.