940 elaine geraghty

Using the Internetto

Reach Out to Young People

Elaine GeraghtyCEO

ReachOut.com Story

Young people in Ireland and the Internet

• 87.4% of 16-24 year olds accessed the internet in 2008. 1

• 81% of Irish young people have said they use or are willing to use the

internet for mental health advice. 2 1 CSO Information Society and Telecommunications 20092 Internet use and seeking health information online in Ireland: Demographic characteristics and mental health characteristics of users and non-users - HRB Research Series 4

Why ReachOut.com?

Why

According to the Central Statistics Office (CS0), there were 527 recorded deaths by suicide in Ireland in 2009, up from 424 the previous year.  The main increase in suicides was amongst the 25 to 44 age group. *

6 out of 10 young people in Ireland would not seek help from a mental health professional if they had problems, **

81% said they would, or already do, go online to get mental health information. ***

* CSO ‘Vital Statistics, 4th Quarter and Yearly Summary 2009’ (Published June 2010)** Unpublished Data from Headstrong’s ‘My World’ survey 2009 *** Internet use and seeking health information online in Ireland: demographic characteristics of users and non users, Health Research Board Series 4, 2008

Younger demographic 18-34 are biggest users with over 90% online

What are Irish people doing online??

Internet and young people

The online service to help young people get through tough times

Mission ” To take the mystery out of mental health by reaching

young people with reliable, positive information and guidance on getting through tough times.”

ReachOut.com theory of change

Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young

people / reduce suicidal behaviour

Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young

people / reduce suicidal behaviour

Increase mental health literacyQuality mental

health information

Increase resilience and foster peer support

Activities Goals Outcomes

Facilitate help-seeking and help-getting

Community

“Community is that place where we feel a sense of belonging. Within our community, we experience our lives as having meaning. Being part of this group makes us feel we are part of something greater than ourselves. Without them, we feel painfully isolated; with them, we sense that we can achieve something greater than any one of us could on our own”

Tony Bates (Irish Times, September 13, 2011)

Facebook as a communication tool

A few numbers…

3000 weekly visits to ReachOut.com

3, 500 facebook fans @ September 2011

678 Twitter follows

80 Youth Advisors

11 Youth Ambassadors

Community Partnerships

Our community engagement strategy sees us integrating with existing community organisations that deal with young people on a day to day basis.

ReachOut.com has partnered with national sporting, third level and youth services to reach young people in their ownenvironment, an environment that they trust.

This presence helps to create a view of mental health as an everyday issue that matters to everyone

Kings of Concrete 2010 - July

A few numbers…

3 Celebrity Ambassadors

Maser, Dublin graffiti artist

Bernard Brogan, GAA star

Laura Whitmore MTV presenter

What’s on ReachOut.com:

“Im 18 and i suffer with anxiety and depression. I thought i had gotten over it but it receantly came back. I get it because I am afraid of ‘becoming an adult’ and going 2 college. It may sound silly but Ive realized how easy it is for death to occur. The thought of death scares me alot and has alot 2 do with my anxiety. I was wondering if any of you other people had similer experience? Thank You”.

“…..On another note, I wanted to give you some personal feedback on the new website.  My brother in law became very depressed late last night.  He told his estranged wife to say goodbye to their son for him and she, suspecting he meant to harm himself, got in touch with my husband.  We looked up ReachOut.com and followed the advice on how to talk to someone in that position and managed to persuade him to come to A&E and to get help.  He's now on anti-depressants and recovering and we were very grateful to have such an excellent resource to turn to at a difficult time so please do continue to keep up the good work”.

September 2011

Learning to reach out:Young people, mental health literacy and the Internet

1. Internet and mental health

2. Focus groups

3. User profile survey

Internet and mental health:Types of online supports

Peer-to-peer support

Peer-to-peer support

Information-based

resources

Online therapyOnline therapy

Focus group quotesConversation is reactive (not proactive)• “you might hear about it (mental health) when it’s already happened,

when someone has committed suicide...as opposed to the prevention side of things”.

Importance of listening• “I had about 3 or 4 days when I just didn’t want to talk to anyone,

(I was) just sitting on my own, but when someone did actually come and talk to me I was talking and they were just listening, it made me feel a lot better”.

Being user-friendly• “if I thought I had a mental health problem I’d probably just go

online”.

Mental health literacy – by gender

Strong evidence of gender differences (p = 0.04)

Recognition of problems

There was strong evidence of recognition variance (p = >0.001)

User-profile survey

• Ethical approval, University College Cork

• 523 respondents

• 30-item questionnaire

User-profile survey - gender

This compares favourably with the Australian ReachOut.com which attracts a high proportion of females (76%)

Rate your understanding of:

65% have (v.)good / excellent understanding of how to help a friend

How likely are you to look for help from the following to get through a tough time?

Help-seeking preferences

Previous help-seeking behaviour

Have you ever spoken with any of the following to get help through a tough time?

41% of those who had seen a health professional were unlikely / very unlikely to seek help from a professional again

Psychological distress – among visitors to ReachOut.com

Based on Ronald Kessler’s scale known as the ‘K-10’,

n = 137

Nearly 2/3 of respondents scored moderate or severe on the K-10

Stigma - attitudes to mental health?

Views about ReachOut.com

Conclusion• Online supports are wide-ranging

• Information / peer-to-peer / online therapy

• Attitudes to mental health are good / knowledge and willingness to access services is poor

• ReachOut.com is attracting high levels of psychological distress

• Services must work together to support youth mental health need

We must recognise that • Young people spend time online• Unhelpful sites exist and aren’t going away• Don’t ignore the problem – PROVIDE A

SOLUTION– Provide accurate, SAFE and trusted information– Don’t further isolate young people– Be in the spaces they inhabit