5. Why According to the Central Statistics Office (CS0), there were 527 recorded deaths by suicide in Ireland in 2009, up from 424 the previous year. The main increase in suicides was amongst the 25 to 44 age group. * 6 out of 10 young people in Ireland would not seek help from a mental health professional if they had problems, ** 8 1% said they would, or already do, go online to get mental health information. *** * CSO ‘Vital Statistics, 4 th Quarter and Yearly Summary 2009’ (Published June 2010) ** Unpublished Data from Headstrong’s ‘My World’ survey 2009 *** Internet use and seeking health information online in Ireland: demographic characteristics of users and non users, Health Research Board Series 4, 2008
11. ReachOut.com theory of change Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people / reduce suicidal behaviour Activities Goals Outcomes Facilitate help-seeking and help-getting Increase mental health literacy Quality mental health information Increase resilience and foster peer support
29. “… ..On another note, I wanted to give you some personal feedback on the new website. My brother in law became very depressed late last night. He told his estranged wife to say goodbye to their son for him and she, suspecting he meant to harm himself, got in touch with my husband. We looked up ReachOut.com and followed the advice on how to talk to someone in that position and managed to persuade him to come to A&E and to get help. He's now on anti-depressants and recovering and we were very grateful to have such an excellent resource to turn to at a difficult time so please do continue to keep up the good work”. September 2011
38. User-profile survey - gender This compares favourably with the Australian ReachOut.com which attracts a high proportion of females (76%)
39. Rate your understanding of: 65% have (v.)good / excellent understanding of how to help a friend
40. How likely are you to look for help from the following to get through a tough time? Help-seeking preferences
41. Previous help-seeking behaviour Have you ever spoken with any of the following to get help through a tough time? 41% of those who had seen a health professional were unlikely / very unlikely to seek help from a professional again
42. Psychological distress – among visitors to ReachOut.com Based on Ronald Kessler’s scale known as the ‘K-10’, n = 137 Nearly 2/3 of respondents scored moderate or severe on the K-10
Who we are: Why it makes sense to introduce a service such as this to Ireland
Internet Usage and seeking health information online in Ireland – HRB Reseach
Red C Survey 2010
Much activity around social aspects –browsing postings, posting messages, online chat and making social plans
Irish teenagers above average at reading, understanding and applying digital texts, including e mails and websites Rank 7 out of 16 OECD states (contrast that to poor performance of Irish students in traditional paper-based literacy tests published by OECD last year)
23% access the internet using ‘handheld device’ – meaning gaming e.g. Nintendo DS – almost twice the European average. 24% network profile shows incorrect age – higher than UK and the European average of 16%
So we know that young people in Ireland spend time online. We know that they are willing to use the internet for many activities – including getting information around their health/mental health
Communities come in all shapes and sizes these days. There is a distinct community online It is how we communicate with that community that matters
We know what the issues are that matter to young people and how to measure their behaviour Improving mental health literacy – taking the mystery out of mental health
Best way to support a friend as well as yourself
The importance of being able to experience other young people’s experiences. Real experiences and success stories – it is possible to get through a tough time
A number of Ambassadors. Ability rhrough technology to upload Q&A quickly
Different function to the site
So how are we doing ?
Clinical Advisors
Mirrors general type of support Everything from sitting having a cup of tea with someone, a friend all the way through to psyciatrc support