Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1009460
Hopelab & Well Being Trust 49 Connecting to Health Providers Online by Young People With Depressive Symptoms Nearly one in three (32%) young people with moderate to severe depressive symptoms report having used online tools to connect with a health provider, such as through texting (15%), online messaging (11%), an app (9%), or video chat (8%). By comparison, only 13% of those with no depressive symptoms say they have used such tools to connect with providers. Connecting to Online Peer to Peer Health Resources by Young People With Depressive Symptoms Accessing other people's health experiences online. Watching, reading, or listening to other people's health stories online is common among this survey's teen and young adult respondents, and this is especially the case among those who are experiencing moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Whether it is through listening to podcasts, watching TED talks and other videos, or reading blogs, three out of four (75%) TYAs with moderate to severe depressive symptoms say they have done so (compared to 54% of those with no depression symptoms). Connecting to peers. Fully half (53%) of teens and young adults with moderate to severe depressive symptoms say they have tried to find people online with similar health concerns – nearly twice the rate of those who are not depressed (27%). Among those living with depressive symptoms who say they haven't tried to find people with similar health concerns online, half (51%) say it's because they would rather talk to someone in person. One in five (21%) say it's because they don't know how to find such people online (respondents were allowed to provide multiple reasons why they didn't try to connect with peers online). None Mild Moderate to severe Shared their own health stories online Accessed others' health stories online By commenting on public posts (e.g. YouTube Tried to find people online with similar health concerns (any method below) 5%ª 54%ª 7%ª 27%ª 22% b 61% 16% b 48% b 29% b 75% b 28% b 53% b Table 8: Peer health advice, by degree of depressive symptoms Percent of 14- to 22-year-olds who have: Source: Hopelab/Well Being Trust Teens and Young Adults Survey, February-March 2018. N=1,337 young people ages 14-22. Note: Superscripts are used to denote statistical significance across rows. Items with no superscripts, and items that share a common superscript, are not significantly different. Through social media Through online health forums 11%ª 21%ª 23% b 36% b 31% b 38% b Through blogs 10%ª 23% b 21% b Digital Health Practices Digital Health Use and Depression Depressive symptoms