Meeting the Unmet Needs of Individuals With Mental Disorders: Scoping Review on Peer-to-Peer Web-Based Interactions

Dawid Storman; Paweł Jemioło; Mateusz Jan Swierz; Zuzanna Sawiec; Ewa Antonowicz; Anna Prokop-Dorner; Marcelina Gotfryd-Burzyńska; Malgorzata M Bala

doi:10.2196/36056

Meeting the Unmet Needs of Individuals With Mental Disorders: Scoping Review on Peer-to-Peer Web-Based Interactions

JMIR Ment Health. 2022 Dec 5;9(12):e36056. doi: 10.2196/36056.

Authors

Dawid Storman¹, Paweł Jemioło², Mateusz Jan Swierz¹, Zuzanna Sawiec³, Ewa Antonowicz³, Anna Prokop-Dorner⁴, Marcelina Gotfryd-Burzyńska⁵, Malgorzata M Bala¹

Affiliations

¹ Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Department of Hygiene and Dietetics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.
² AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland.
³ Students' Scientific Research Group of Systematic Reviews, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.
⁴ Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.
⁵ Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.

PMID: 36469366
PMCID: PMC9788841
DOI: 10.2196/36056

Abstract

Background: An increasing number of online support groups are providing advice and information on topics related to mental health.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the needs that internet users meet through peer-to-peer interactions.

Methods: A search of 4 databases was performed until August 15, 2022. Qualitative or mixed methods (ie, qualitative and quantitative) studies investigating interactions among internet users with mental disorders were included. The φ coefficient was used and machine learning techniques were applied to investigate the associations between the type of mental disorders and web-based interactions linked to seeking help or support.

Results: Of the 13,098 identified records, 44 studies (analyzed in 54 study-disorder pairs) that assessed 82,091 users and 293,103 posts were included. The most frequent interactions were noted for people with eating disorders (14/54, 26%), depression (12/54, 22%), and psychoactive substance use disorders (9/54, 17%). We grouped interactions between users into 42 codes, with the empathy or compassion code being the most common (41/54, 76%). The most frequently coexisting codes were request for information and network (35 times; φ=0.5; P<.001). The algorithms that provided the best accuracy in classifying disorders by interactions were decision trees (44/54, 81%) and logistic regression (40/54, 74%). The included studies were of moderate quality.

Conclusions: People with mental disorders mostly use the internet to seek support, find answers to their questions, and chat. The results of this analysis should be interpreted as a proof of concept. More data on web-based interactions among these people might help apply machine learning methods to develop a tool that might facilitate screening or even support mental health assessment.

Keywords: mental disorders; peer-to-peer interactions; scoping review; web-based interactions.

©Dawid Storman, Paweł Jemioło, Mateusz Jan Swierz, Zuzanna Sawiec, Ewa Antonowicz, Anna Prokop-Dorner, Marcelina Gotfryd-Burzyńska, Malgorzata M Bala. Originally published in JMIR Mental Health (https://mental.jmir.org), 05.12.2022.

Publication types

Review