Perceptions of a Digital Mental Health Platform Among Participants With Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, and Other Clinically Diagnosed Mental Disorders in Singapore: Usability and Acceptability Study

Abstract

Background: The website mindline.sg is a stress management and coping website that can be accessed anonymously in Singapore for free. Although designed to serve individuals who are well or have mild depression and anxiety symptoms, mindline.sg may potentially be used by clinicians as an adjunct therapeutic aid for patients with clinically diagnosed mental disorders. Objective: This study aims to determine the perceived usability, acceptability, and usefulness of mindline.sg among individuals with diagnosed mental disorders in a clinical setting. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 173 participants was conducted in the waiting room of a psychiatrist’s office at the National University Hospital in Singapore. Participants waiting for an appointment were given 30 minutes and a simple set of instructions to use three features of mindline.sg. They subsequently answered a set of web-based survey questions via their smartphones, including a 16-item subset of the Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) for usability measurement and 5 questions designed to understand the perceived usefulness and acceptability of mindline.sg. Multiple linear regression is used to determine the associated demographic factors with overall PSSUQ score. A chi-square test is performed to investigate associations of psychiatric condition with users’ responses on acceptability and perceived usefulness of mindline.sg. For this study, P