Internet Use among Patients with Schizophrenia and Depression

Nikola Žaja, Jakša Vukojević, Tvrtko Žarko, Marko Marelić, Domagoj Vidović and Tea Vukušić Rukavina
Additional contact information
Nikola Žaja: University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, Bolnička cesta 32, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Jakša Vukojević: University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, Bolnička cesta 32, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tvrtko Žarko: University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, Bolnička cesta 32, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Marko Marelić: Andrija Štampar School of Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Rockefellerova ulica 4, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Domagoj Vidović: University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, Bolnička cesta 32, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tea Vukušić Rukavina: Andrija Štampar School of Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Rockefellerova ulica 4, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: Background: The high and increasing prevalence of internet use in the general population and the significant burden of depression and schizophrenia urge us to investigate the patterns of internet use among patients with these illnesses. The aim of this study is to assess internet use and mental health-related internet use among patients suffering from schizophrenia and depression. Methods: A total of 104 patients with psychosis and 105 patients with depression were surveyed to assess their internet use and mental health-related internet use. Results: The majority of participants were internet users (87.6%), with 66.7% of internet users with psychosis and 71.4% of internet users with depression using it as a source of information on mental health. Participants with psychosis significantly more attributed the internet and mental health internet forums as helpful in coping with their mental illness and were more interested in the utilization of online mental health services than participants with depression. Conclusions: General internet use in patients with schizophrenia and depression corresponds with the internet use of the general population; however, they use it more often as a source of health information than the general population. Mental health service providers should offer more online interventions and treatment programs to patients with psychosis and depression, as our study suggests there is an unmet need for online mental health services for such patients.

Keywords: mental health; internet; digital health; internet-based intervention; psychiatry; mood disorders; psychotic disorders; cyber mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/9/5695/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/9/5695/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:9:p:5695-:d:810437

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().