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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Digital mental health services (DMHSs) deliver mental health information, assessment, and treatment, via the internet, telephone, or other digital channels. The current study compares two DMHSs operating in Western Australia (WA)—The Practitioner Online Referral System (PORTS) and MindSpot. Both provide telephone and online psychological services at no cost to patients or referrers. However, PORTS is accessed by patients via referral from health practitioners, and is designed to reach those who are financially, geographically, or otherwise disadvantaged. In contrast, MindSpot services are available to all Australian residents and patients can self-refer. This observational study compares characteristics and treatment outcomes for patients of PORTS and MindSpot in WA. Eligible patients were people who resided in WA and registered with either clinic from January 2019 to December 2020. Results showed that PORTS patients were more likely to be older, male, and unemployed. They were less likely to report a tertiary education and were more likely to live in areas with higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. Despite these differences, treatment outcomes were excellent for patients from both clinics. Results provide further evidence for the accessibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of DMHSs regardless of referral pathway or patient characteristics.

Details

Title
A Comparison of Self-Referral and Referral via Primary Care Providers, through Two Similar Digital Mental Health Services in Western Australia
Author
Staples, Lauren G 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Webb, Nick 1 ; Asrianti, Lia 1 ; Cross, Shane 1 ; Rock, Daniel 2 ; Kayrouz, Rony 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Eyal, Karin 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Dear, Blake F 1 ; Nielssen, Olav 1 ; Titov, Nickolai 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 MindSpot and PORTS Clinics, MQ Health, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney 2109, Australia; [email protected] (N.W.); [email protected] (L.A.); [email protected] (S.C.); [email protected] (R.K.); [email protected] (E.K.); [email protected] (B.F.D.); [email protected] (O.N.); [email protected] (N.T.) 
 WA Primary Health Alliance, Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Western Australia, Perth 6907, Australia; [email protected] 
First page
905
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
1661-7827
e-ISSN
1660-4601
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2621284603
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.