JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The global prevalence of mental health disorders is at a crisis point, particularly in the wake of COVID-19, prompting calls for the development of interdisciplinary digital mental health promotion interventions (MHPIs) for nonclinical cohorts. However, the influence of gender and age on the outcomes of, and adherence to, MHPIs is not well understood.

Objective:

To determine the influence of gender and age on the outcomes of, and adherence to, a 10-week interdisciplinary digital MHPI that integrates strategies from positive psychology and lifestyle medicine and utilizes persuasive systems design (PSD) principles.

Methods:

This study combined data from two independent studies, a randomized controlled trial (n=168) and a comparative randomized study (n=320) , that used the same intervention. Participants completed a pre- and postintervention questionnaire that assessed mental health and wellbeing outcomes using: the “mental health” and “vitality” subscales from the Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey; the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21); and Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWL). Adherence to the MHPI was measured by the number of educational videos the participants viewed and the extent to which they engaged in experiential challenge activities offered as part of the program.

Results:

On average, the participants (n=488, mean age=47.1±14.1 years old, 77.5% female) experienced statistically significant improvements in all mental health and wellbeing outcome measures, and a significant gender and age interaction was observed (P=.01) . Females tended to experience greater improvements than the males in the mental health and wellbeing measures, and older males experienced greater improvements than the younger males in the mental health and vitality subscales of the SF-36. MANOVA results of the adherence measures indicated a significant difference for age (P=.01), but not gender (P=.29). No statistically significant interaction between gender and age adherence measures (P=.61) was observed.

Conclusions:

Interdisciplinary digital MHPIs that utilise PSD principles can improve the mental health and wellbeing of nonclinical cohorts, regardless of gender or age. However, gender and age may influence the extent of benefit achieved by the intervention. Further research is needed to explore how interdisciplinary digital MHPIs can be designed to optimally engage both genders and different age groups. Clinical Trial: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) 12619000993190; http://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=377889 and 12619001009101; http://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12619001009101.aspx.