Barriers and Facilitators of Digital Mental Health Use in Regional, Rural, and Remote Australia: A Comparison of Clinician and Consumer Perspectives.
Jenny T Le, Alison E J Mahoney, Jay L Court and 1 others
PMID 40130827WHAT IT FOUND
Clinicians and consumers in regional and remote Australia described digital mental health as useful, but motivation, stigma, poor digital confidence and limited knowledge were barriers.
Clinician advice and ongoing contact encouraged consumers to use it.
Key findings
01Clinicians reported provider-level barriers including limited knowledge of digital mental health options, forgetting to recommend them, low technical confidence and uncertainty about fitting them into practice.
02Consumers reported limited motivation as the most common barrier to using digital mental health interventions, endorsed by one-quarter, compared with 51% of clinicians who perceived it as a client barrier.
03Consumers identified accessibility from home, at any time and without waiting as key facilitators, along with anonymity, professional advice and contact during use.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Participants were self-selected and already familiar with digital mental health, so results may not apply to people without internet access, limited English, low digital confidence, or those who have not sought mental health help. The clinician and consumer groups were not matched, so clinicians' views may reflect other clients, not the consumers surveyed. Survey items were optional and self-reported, with some missing data, and most responses were categorical rather than in-depth. The study did not record whether consumers had mild, moderate or severe mental health concerns, so it cannot say how symptom severity affects barriers. It reports perceptions and barriers, not whether digital mental health interventions improved symptoms or engagement.
Declared interests
No conflicts were declared. The study was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. It was conducted in the context of THIS WAY UP and used its mailing lists for recruitment.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that digital mental health programs work or that clinician advice causes engagement. It is a survey of perceptions among people already familiar with digital mental health, and it did not test treatment outcomes.