Murray KE, Musumeci CJ, Cassidy E. Crossing the digital divide: A content analysis of mainstream Australian mental health websites for languages other than English. Health Soc Care Community 2022;30(6):e4831-e4839. doi:10.1111/hsc.13890
Online mental health services are an effective way to provide support while individuals wait for access to face-to-face therapeutic care. As the wait time for access to face-to-face mental health care increases, so too does the use of government-sponsored digital mental health platforms. The Australian government funds mental health websites to promote access to these online services. This article assessed the accessibility of these websites for non-English speaking/literate users. Of the thirty-three websites that provided access to mental health tools and educational materials, only four had translation options available. While non-English translation was available on four websites, only two displayed the translation option directly on the homepage. A search was required to access translation options on the other two websites. The authors also assessed websites for inclusion of content tailored to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. A total of 1100 unique content subsections were found across the 33 websites. Eight subsections were specific to CALD communities and only 9 websites even mentioned CALD communities in relation to mental health. Overall, the authors suggest that digital mental health tools should strive to be more inclusive of language barriers in Australian populations.