Journal de communication de masse et de journalisme

Online Public Health Interventions: A Good Strategy for Those with Mental Illness?

Abstract

Amanda Richardson

Online delivery of public health interventions is on the rise and for good reason. Roughly 2.3 billion people across the globe are online [1] and many are using it as a resource for health-related information [2,3]. This has promoted a shift in many consumers from passive recipients to active participants in managing their own health [4,5]. Practitioners have been quick to recognize the promise of the internet as a vehicle for disseminating health-saving messages [6] and studies assessing online interventions have concluded that they work [7-12]. However, what has not been appropriately assessed is the degree to which online interventions reach and influence vulnerable sub-groups, such as those with mental disorders.