Young People’s Preferences for Web-Based Mental Health Interventions for Managing Anxiety and Depression: A Discrete Choice Experiment

Objective Anxiety and depression are prevalent in young people. Web-based mental health interventions (W-MHIs) have the potential to reduce anxiety and depression, yet the level of engagement remains low. This study aims to elicit young people’s preferences towards W-MHIs and the relative importance of intervention attributes in influencing choice. Methods A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted online among young people aged 18–25 years who lived in Australia, self-reported experiences of anxiety and/or depression in the past 12 months and had an intention to use W-MHIs and/or previous experience with W-MHIs for managing anxiety and/or depression. Participants were recruited via social media and Deakin University notice boards. The DCE design comprised six attributes, including out-of-pocket cost, access to trained instructors (e.g., therapists, coaches) to help users stay engaged with the intervention, total time required to complete the intervention, initial screening, quizzes within the W-MHIs to check user’s understanding about the intervention content, and communication with other users. The DCE design consisted of three blocks, each with eight unlabelled choice tasks, each with two alternatives. Data were analysed using a mixed logit model. Results One hundred ninety-nine participants completed the DCE (mean age: 21.43 ± 2.29 years, 64.32% female). Lower cost, access to instructors, and moderate time required to complete the intervention (5 h) were significant facilitators. The W-MHIs including audio- or video-call access to instructors were 23 percentage points more likely to be chosen than those without and W-MHI with a moderate completion time (5 h) was 18 percentage points more likely to be chosen than one with a shorter time (2 h). Conclusion Our results highlight that low-cost W-MHIs with access to trained instructors and moderate completion time could increase uptake. More research is required to confirm these findings and examine whether these preferences vary across different population characteristics.