ArticleInternet interventions2021
A tale of two countries: Increased uptake of digital mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and New Zealand.
Article in Internet interventions, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Outcomes of Best-Practice Guided Digital Mental Health Interventions for Youth and Young Adults with Emerging Symptoms: Part I. A Systematic Review of Socioemotional Outcomes and Recommendations.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2024Pooled it
- Suicide prevention during disasters and public health emergencies: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Advancing equity in routine-care internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy: Representativeness, outcomes, engagement, and satisfaction.Internet interventions · 2026Article
- More Than Activity: The Effect of Sustained Engagement in Digital Alcohol Support Interventions for Regional and Remote Communities.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2026Observational
- Recent Advances in Non-Invasive Digital Nursing Technologies for Chronic Pain Assessment and Management: An Integrative Review.Journal of advanced nursing · 2025Review
- Exploring Technical Features to Enhance Control in Videoconferencing Psychotherapy: Quantitative Study on Clinicians' Perspectives.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Program evaluation of internet-delivered cognitive behavioral treatments for anxiety and depression in a digital clinic.Journal of mood and anxiety disorders · 2025Article
- Study protocol: perinatal mood treatment study.Trials · 2024Article
- Effect of an Internet-based mental health promotion intervention among immigrant Chinese women: A quasi-experimental study.SSM - population health · 2024Article
- Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy in the real world: Naturalistic use and effectiveness of an evidence-based platform in New Zealand.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2024Article
- Changes in digital healthcare search behavior during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic: A study of six English-speaking countries.PLOS digital health · 2023Article
- Evaluation of Various Support Intensities of Digital Mental Health Treatment for Reducing Anxiety and Depression in Adults: Protocol for a Mixed Methods, Adaptive, Randomized Clinical Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2023Article
- Personalized Help-Seeking Web Application for Chinese-Speaking International University Students: Development and Usability Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- European public mental health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.European journal of public health · 2023Article
- How Has COVID-19 Affected Mental Health and Lifestyle Behaviors after 2 Years? The Third Step of a Longitudinal Study of Italian Citizens.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Promotion of Parenting and Mental Health Needs among Chinese Women Living in Japan: A Qualitative Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- An e-Mental Health Resource for COVID-19-Associated Stress Reduction: Mixed Methods Study of Reach, Usability, and User Perceptions.JMIR mental health · 2022Article
- Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing in Multicultural Australia: A Collaborative Regional Approach.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Linking music streaming platform advertisements with a digital mental health assessment and interventions.Frontiers in digital health · 2022Article
- The uptake and outcomes of Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy for health anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of anxiety disorders · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDigital mental health services (DMHS) provide highly accessible psychological supports and interventions that can supplement existing mental health services. Concerns about the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have been widespread and provide a unique impetus to examine the utility and responsivity of DMHS. This study examined the service utilisation and user characteristics of two DMHS (THIS WAY UP and Just a Thought) in Australia and New Zealand before and during the early pandemic period in these countries (March to June 2020).
methodsService use indices (website visits, course registrations and prescriptions, clinician registrations) were compared across different time periods before (12, 6 and 3 months) and during the pandemic in Australia and New Zealand. The demographic and clinical characteristics of course registrants (anxiety and depression symptom severity and psychological distress) were also compared across the pre- and during-COVID periods.
resultsComparing pre-COVID to during-COVID time periods, we observed substantial increases across all service use indices in both DMHS (increases of >100% on the majority of service use indices). For example, in the 3 months prior to the pandemic, 2806 people registered for a THIS WAY UP course and 1907 people registered for a Just a Thought course, whereas 21,872 and 5442 registered for a THIS WAY UP and Just a Thought course, respectively, during the first 3 months of the COVID pandemic. Slight differences in the demographic and clinical profiles of course registrants were found between pre- and during-COVID time periods, with limited evidence of elevated anxiety and depression symptom severity in the COVID period.
conclusionsFollowing the outbreak of COVID-19 in Australia and New Zealand, the volume of users accessing DMHS increased yet the demographic and clinical characteristics of course registrants remained stable. Results underscore how nimble and scalable DMHS can be during periods of high demand.
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