Cargando…

Use of the Internet and Digital Devices Among People With Severe Mental Ill Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions

Background: Restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to everyday reliance on digitalisation of life, including access to health care services. People with severe mental ill health (SMI—e.g., bipolar or psychosis spectrum disorders) are at greater risk for digital exclusion and it is unknow...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Spanakis, Panagiotis, Heron, Paul, Walker, Lauren, Crosland, Suzanne, Wadman, Ruth, Newbronner, Elizabeth, Johnston, Gordon, Gilbody, Simon, Peckham, Emily
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8499705/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34630183
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.732735
_version_ 1784580357405802496
author Spanakis, Panagiotis
Heron, Paul
Walker, Lauren
Crosland, Suzanne
Wadman, Ruth
Newbronner, Elizabeth
Johnston, Gordon
Gilbody, Simon
Peckham, Emily
author_facet Spanakis, Panagiotis
Heron, Paul
Walker, Lauren
Crosland, Suzanne
Wadman, Ruth
Newbronner, Elizabeth
Johnston, Gordon
Gilbody, Simon
Peckham, Emily
author_sort Spanakis, Panagiotis
collection PubMed
description Background: Restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to everyday reliance on digitalisation of life, including access to health care services. People with severe mental ill health (SMI—e.g., bipolar or psychosis spectrum disorders) are at greater risk for digital exclusion and it is unknown to what extent they adapted to online service delivery. This study explored use of the Internet and digital devices during the pandemic restrictions and its association with physical and mental health changes. Methods: Three hundred sixty seven adults with an SMI diagnosis completed a survey (online or offline) and provided information on access to Internet connexion and devices, internet knowledge, online activities, and barriers to using the Internet. They also self-reported changes in mental and physical health since the beginning of the pandemic restrictions. Results: During the pandemic restrictions 61.6% were limited or non-users of the Internet. The majority had access to the Internet and digital devices but around half reported knowledge deficits. Most common activities were accessing information and entertainment (88.9%), staying in touch with friends and families (84.8%), and purchasing goods (other than food) (84.3%). Most common barriers were finding the Internet “not interesting” (28.3%) or “too difficult” (27.9%), as well as “security concerns” (22.1–24.3%). Using the Internet “a lot” (vs. “just a bit or not at all”) during the pandemic was associated with younger age (18–30: Adj ORs 4.76; 31–45: 6.39; Ps < 0.001; vs. 66+), having a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (compared to psychosis; Adj OR = 3.88, P < 0.001), or reporting a decline in mental health (compared to no decline; Adj OR = 1.92, P = 0.01). Conclusion: Most people with SMI were limited or non-users of the Internet during the pandemic, which seems to be mainly attributable to lack of interest and skills, rather than lack of devices or connectivity. Older adults with psychosis should be the focus of interventions to support digital engagement in people with SMI.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8499705
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-84997052021-10-09 Use of the Internet and Digital Devices Among People With Severe Mental Ill Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions Spanakis, Panagiotis Heron, Paul Walker, Lauren Crosland, Suzanne Wadman, Ruth Newbronner, Elizabeth Johnston, Gordon Gilbody, Simon Peckham, Emily Front Psychiatry Psychiatry Background: Restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to everyday reliance on digitalisation of life, including access to health care services. People with severe mental ill health (SMI—e.g., bipolar or psychosis spectrum disorders) are at greater risk for digital exclusion and it is unknown to what extent they adapted to online service delivery. This study explored use of the Internet and digital devices during the pandemic restrictions and its association with physical and mental health changes. Methods: Three hundred sixty seven adults with an SMI diagnosis completed a survey (online or offline) and provided information on access to Internet connexion and devices, internet knowledge, online activities, and barriers to using the Internet. They also self-reported changes in mental and physical health since the beginning of the pandemic restrictions. Results: During the pandemic restrictions 61.6% were limited or non-users of the Internet. The majority had access to the Internet and digital devices but around half reported knowledge deficits. Most common activities were accessing information and entertainment (88.9%), staying in touch with friends and families (84.8%), and purchasing goods (other than food) (84.3%). Most common barriers were finding the Internet “not interesting” (28.3%) or “too difficult” (27.9%), as well as “security concerns” (22.1–24.3%). Using the Internet “a lot” (vs. “just a bit or not at all”) during the pandemic was associated with younger age (18–30: Adj ORs 4.76; 31–45: 6.39; Ps < 0.001; vs. 66+), having a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (compared to psychosis; Adj OR = 3.88, P < 0.001), or reporting a decline in mental health (compared to no decline; Adj OR = 1.92, P = 0.01). Conclusion: Most people with SMI were limited or non-users of the Internet during the pandemic, which seems to be mainly attributable to lack of interest and skills, rather than lack of devices or connectivity. Older adults with psychosis should be the focus of interventions to support digital engagement in people with SMI. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-09-24 /pmc/articles/PMC8499705/ /pubmed/34630183 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.732735 Text en Copyright © 2021 Spanakis, Heron, Walker, Crosland, Wadman, Newbronner, Johnston, Gilbody and Peckham. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychiatry
Spanakis, Panagiotis
Heron, Paul
Walker, Lauren
Crosland, Suzanne
Wadman, Ruth
Newbronner, Elizabeth
Johnston, Gordon
Gilbody, Simon
Peckham, Emily
Use of the Internet and Digital Devices Among People With Severe Mental Ill Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions
title Use of the Internet and Digital Devices Among People With Severe Mental Ill Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions
title_full Use of the Internet and Digital Devices Among People With Severe Mental Ill Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions
title_fullStr Use of the Internet and Digital Devices Among People With Severe Mental Ill Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions
title_full_unstemmed Use of the Internet and Digital Devices Among People With Severe Mental Ill Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions
title_short Use of the Internet and Digital Devices Among People With Severe Mental Ill Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions
title_sort use of the internet and digital devices among people with severe mental ill health during the covid-19 pandemic restrictions
topic Psychiatry
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8499705/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34630183
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.732735
work_keys_str_mv AT spanakispanagiotis useoftheinternetanddigitaldevicesamongpeoplewithseverementalillhealthduringthecovid19pandemicrestrictions
AT heronpaul useoftheinternetanddigitaldevicesamongpeoplewithseverementalillhealthduringthecovid19pandemicrestrictions
AT walkerlauren useoftheinternetanddigitaldevicesamongpeoplewithseverementalillhealthduringthecovid19pandemicrestrictions
AT croslandsuzanne useoftheinternetanddigitaldevicesamongpeoplewithseverementalillhealthduringthecovid19pandemicrestrictions
AT wadmanruth useoftheinternetanddigitaldevicesamongpeoplewithseverementalillhealthduringthecovid19pandemicrestrictions
AT newbronnerelizabeth useoftheinternetanddigitaldevicesamongpeoplewithseverementalillhealthduringthecovid19pandemicrestrictions
AT johnstongordon useoftheinternetanddigitaldevicesamongpeoplewithseverementalillhealthduringthecovid19pandemicrestrictions
AT gilbodysimon useoftheinternetanddigitaldevicesamongpeoplewithseverementalillhealthduringthecovid19pandemicrestrictions
AT peckhamemily useoftheinternetanddigitaldevicesamongpeoplewithseverementalillhealthduringthecovid19pandemicrestrictions