Szlyk H, Deng J, Xu C, Krauss M, Cavazos-Rehg P. (2020). Leveraging social media to explore the barriers to treatment among individuals with depressive symptoms. Depression and Anxiety. 37(5): 458-465. doi: 10.1002/da.22990
Researchers recruited 643 individuals with depressive symptoms to participate in a study of the barriers to mental health treatment among people with depression who use social networks. Recruitment methods (private messages, social media posts, and advertisements with a study website link) targeted individuals who had posted about feeling depressed on social media or in online depression forums or followed depression-related social media accounts. Three hundred eighty-nine participants (aged 15-70 years) completed an online survey that included items to measure depressive symptoms, interest in treatment, and barriers to accessing treatment. Reported barriers to treatment included attitudinal (e.g. felt too embarrassed to discuss depression with anyone), structural (e.g. did not have time), and financial obstacles (e.g. could not afford treatment, not covered by health insurance). Researchers focused analysis on participants with recent symptoms of depression who were not currently in treatment and perceived an unmet need for treatment (n = 165). In this sample, over half of participants (55%) reported experiencing three to five barriers to treatment. Participants whose symptoms met the criteria for major depression were significantly more likely than participants with mild depression to report attitudinal barriers associated with treatment (76% vs. 51%) and stigma (67% vs. 40%). Participants with mild depression were significantly more likely to report structural barriers to treatment than participants with major depression (59% vs. 41%). Almost half of all participants experienced financial barriers to treatment (major depression: 48%, mild depression: 45%). Future studies could explore the utility of social media-based engagement strategies for individuals with depressive symptoms who perceive an unmet need for treatment.