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Unspecified mental disorder
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During the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic,many community and voluntary organisations were unable to provide in-person support for their members. Many of these organisations used technology to remain connected to the people they were trying to help. For example,they used their webpages to communicate information and/or they used video-conferencing software such as “Zoom” to deliver workshops,training sessions,and social activities.
Previous research has found that digital technology can help improve mental health and wellbeing by making it easier for people to find information about health. Digital technology can also help people feel less lonely by making it easier to find social activities and connect with people. However,digital and online services are not useful for everyone. For instance,some people do not have access to a computer or a smartphone or have internet in their home. Also,many people do not have the confidence or skills that are required to use digital technology. It is likely that,during the pandemic,these people were even more disadvantaged than normal and were at greater risk of poor mental health than people who were easily able to access online services and activities. This is a problem going forward because many organisations are still offering services and activities online instead of in-person,and digital technology is becoming even more common in many different parts of everyday life.
This study will explore the role of digital technology used by community organisations to support the mental health and wellbeing of their communities,particularly groups in communities that are less likely to have access to digital services and activities.
Specifically,this study will aim to:
Understand how community organisations that use using digital technology help (or hinder) people to form meaningful social connections and prevent loneliness.
Find out whether and how community organisations are using digital technology to provide services on a regular basis.
Discover the most effective ways to use digital technology to provide services and activities for people who experience disadvantage within society.
Find out if the increased use of digital technology is unintentionally leading to some groups of people being “left behind” and therefore at more risk of poor mental health.
Find out if the increased use of digital technology is helping some groups of people who were previously “left behind” or struggled to access support.
The study will have two separate parts. In the first part we will hand out a survey (paper copies or online) to people who use community organisations to support their mental health and wellbeing in England. In the second part,we will select six community organisations to be case studies and carry out in-depth interviews and/or focus groups with people who use these organisations.
Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.
The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:
Observational type: Cross-sectional;
You can take part if:
You may not be able to take part if:
The exclusion criteria for phase 1 of the study (survey) is as follows: Children and young people below the age of 18-years will be excluded. People who have not used a community-based organisations that offered services or support that aim to improve public mental health or wellbeing of adults will be excluded. The exclusion criteria for case study selection in phase 2 of the study is as follows: Clinical or NHS services will be excluded Digital assets that do not provide an opportunity for 2-way communication or interaction (e.g.,information repositories) will be excluded. Community-based organisations whose modes of working were completely digital as of 23rd of March 2019 (a year prior to the first UK lockdown on the 23rd of March 2020) will be excluded. Children and young people below the age of 18-years will be excluded. Any community-based organisations that do not offer services or support that aim to improve public mental health or wellbeing of adults will be excluded.
Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.
The study is sponsored by University of Cambridge and funded by NIHR School for Public Health Research .
Your feedback is important to us. It will help us improve the quality of the study information on this site. Please answer both questions.
Read full details
for Trial ID: CPMS 61698
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