ArticleJMIR mental health2020
Evaluation of ReachOut.com, an Unstructured Digital Youth Mental Health Intervention: Prospective Cohort Study.
Article in JMIR mental health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Personalization variables in digital mental health interventions for depression and anxiety in adolescents and youth: a scoping review.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Pooled it
- Barriers to and facilitators of user engagement with web-based mental health interventions in young people: a systematic review.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Strategies for Enhancing the Implementation of Universal Mental Health Prevention Programs in Schools: A Systematic Review.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2023Pooled it
- Article
- Adolescents' and youths' perceived barriers and facilitators to engaging with digital mental health interventions for depression and anxiety: A scoping review.Internet interventions · 2025Review
- Digital Mental Health Interventions for Young People Aged 16-25 Years: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Developing Digital Mental Health Tools With Culturally Diverse Parents and Young People: Qualitative User-Centered Design Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2025Article
- Personalised care, youth mental health, and digital technology: A value sensitive design perspective and framework.Ethics and information technology · 2025Article
- Government funded suicide prevention in Australia - an environmental scan.BMC public health · 2024Article
- A qualitative exploration of online forums to support resilience of rural young people in Australia.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- A Scoping Review of Digital-Based Intervention for Reducing Risk of Suicide Among Adults.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
- What are practitioners' views of how digital health interventions may play a role in online child sexual abuse service delivery?Frontiers in digital health · 2024Article
- The Effectiveness of a Smartphone Intervention Targeting Suicidal Ideation in Young Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial Examining the Influence of Loneliness.JMIR mental health · 2023Article
- Reinventing mental health care in youth through mobile approaches: Current status and future steps.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Support over Social Media among Socially Isolated Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in Rural U.S. during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunities for Intervention Research.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Use of unstructured intervention in a community-based mental health setting for the recovery of people with depression in Hong Kong: A qualitative assessment.Health & social care in the community · 2022Article
- Designing and scaling up integrated youth mental health care.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2022Article
- The Influence of Gender and Age on the Outcomes of and Adherence to a Digital Interdisciplinary Mental Health Promotion Intervention in an Australasian Nonclinical Setting: Cohort Study.JMIR mental health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundYoung people experience a disproportionate burden associated with mental illness that Australia's mental health care system is ill-equipped to handle. Despite improvements in the provision of mental health services, the rates of service utilization among young people remain suboptimal, and there are still considerable barriers to seeking help. Digital mental health services can overcome a number of barriers and connect young people requiring support; however, the evidence base of digital interventions is limited.
objectiveThe aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a brief, self-directed, unstructured digital intervention, ReachOut.com (hereafter ReachOut), in reducing depression, anxiety, stress, and risk of suicide.
methodsA cohort of 1982 ReachOut users participated in a 12-week longitudinal study, with a retention rate of 81.18% (1609/1982) across the duration of the study. Participants completed web-based surveys, with outcome measures of mental health status and suicide risk assessed at 3 time points across the study period.
resultsThe results demonstrated that over the 12-week study period, young people using ReachOut experienced modest yet significant reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Significant, albeit modest, reductions in the proportion of participants at high risk of suicide were also observed.
conclusionsThe findings of this research provide preliminary evidence of the promise of an unstructured digital mental health intervention, ReachOut, in alleviating symptoms of mental ill-health and promoting well-being in young people. These findings are particularly important given that digital services are not only acceptable and accessible but also have the potential to cater to the diverse mental health needs of young people at scale, in a way that other services cannot.
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