Application of an Adapted Health Action Process Approach Model to Predict Engagement With a Digital Mental Health Website: Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Digital Mental Health (DMH) tools are an effective, readily accessible, and affordable form of mental health support. However, sustained engagement with DMH is suboptimal, with limited research on DMH engagement. The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) is an empirically supported theory of health behavior adoption and maintenance. Whether this model also explains DMH tool engagement remains unknown. Objective: This study examined whether an adapted HAPA model predicted engagement with DMH via a self-guided website. Methods: Visitors to the Mental Health America (MHA) website were invited to complete a brief survey measuring HAPA constructs. This cross-sectional study tested the adapted HAPA model with data collected using voluntary response sampling from 16,078 sessions (15,619 unique IP addresses from United States residents) on the MHA website from October 2021 through February 2022. Model fit was examined via structural equation modeling in predicting two engagement outcomes: (1) choice to engage with DMH (ie, spending 3 or more seconds on an MHA page, excluding screening pages) and (2) level of engagement (ie, time spent on MHA pages and number of pages visited, both excluding screening pages). Results: Participants chose to engage with the MHA website in 94.3% (15,161/16,078) of the sessions. Perceived need (β=.66; P