Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39354461›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2024

Marketing mental health services: a mixed-methods analysis of racially and ethnically diverse college students' engagement with and perspectives on U.S. university mental health clinics' websites.

Yesenia Aguilar Silvan, Sarah Hamza, Sara Fardeheb, Christine Bird, Lauren C Ng

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Article in BMC health services research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Yesenia Aguilar SilvanDepartment of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, US.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1978-3274
Sarah HamzaDepartment of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, US.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-5754-5961
Sara FardehebDepartment of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, US.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-3722-3926
Christine BirdDepartment of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, US.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6276-9753
Lauren C NgDepartment of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, US. laurenng@ucla.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5988-008X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe United States (U.S.) faces a significant mental health crisis, with around 52.9 million adults experiencing mental health disorders, with young adults (18-25 years old), such as college students, having the highest prevalence and lowest service utilization rates. While efforts to expand mental health services through "push" strategies are in place (e.g., training therapists in evidence-based therapies), limited initial engagement suggests a need for "pull strategies" and targeted marketing that make services attractive to college students and increase demand. This mixed-methods study identifies U.S. university mental health clinic websites and website characteristics that are attractive and engaging to college students interested in seeking mental health services (i.e., students were considering or actively looking for mental health support).

methodsEleven U.S. university websites were chosen (10 randomly and one from the university where students were attending) from a pool of 44 Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System training clinics websites. Fifty-seven college students (M

resultsLikert scale scores revealed moderate engagement with all websites (e.g., they were interesting and helpful). Qualitative results indicated that websites that provided important and easily understood information about key features of services (e.g., types, evidence-base, and cost), therapist backgrounds, psychoeducation, used lay language, and had an appealing website layout (e.g., color, font, images, organization, and interactive components) generated greater consumer interest and trust in their mental health services.

conclusionsThis study emphasizes the importance of using marketing strategies to enhance college students' engagement through mental health service websites. Salient features, psychoeducation, and effective promotional strategies (e.g., how information is presented) were identified as crucial for website engagement and subsequent mental health service uptake. Using marketing strategies, such as tailoring language to consumer literacy levels, describing the evidence-base of services, and improving website design may address college students' needs and enhance initial mental health service engagement.

Indexed as

InternetMental Health ServicesStudentsAdolescentAdultEthnicityFemaleHumansMaleMarketing of Health ServicesRacial GroupsStudent Health ServicesUnited StatesUniversitiesYoung AdultConsumer EngagementMarketingMental Health Services

Identifiers

PMID39354461
PMCPMC11446032

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.