Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Mental Health
Date Submitted: Mar 21, 2023
Date Accepted: May 11, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Online mental health forums and rural resilience: a logic model and mixed methods study from Australia
ABSTRACT
This paper identifies and examines pathways by which online peer support mental health forums assist in building the resilience of rural residents by addressing individual challenges with mental health. We accomplish this by using a resilience theory, developing a Theoretical Resilience Framework and applying it to empirical qualitative data from three Australian online health forums as well as interviews with rural forum users. Using thematic analysis and an abductive approach to generating new knowledge, we develop a logic model illustrating links between factors influencing personal resilience, enabling features and spaces facilitating resilience, resilience resources generated through the intervention and its outcomes. Our study demonstrates that online forums make valuable contributions to ongoing and timely support services to rural people experiencing mental ill-health as well as support them to cope with stressors and a range of challenges (i.e., resilience). Embedded in a rural setting, the paper adds to the understanding of the role of online forums in addressing geographical isolation. Ultimately, our work helps to develop new sources of knowledge about rural resilience and supporting mental health service provision in rural places.
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Copyright
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