Development of an easy-to-use platform containing resources for common mental health concerns for older adults under Center for Advanced Research on Digital interventions for mental health care

Globally, there are 727 million persons aged 65 years or over in 2020. The population of older persons projected to reach over 1.5 billion in 2050 with women representing the majority of older persons (World Population Ageing Highlights, 2020). India has the second largest global population of ageing citizens with number increasing from 11 crores in 2011 to an estimated 23 crores in 2036. As per the Help Age India Report, 2022-2023 the elderly will comprise 20% of the India’s population in 2050. As per the National Mental Health Survey 2015-2016 (Gururaj et al., 2016), older adults had a higher lifetime (6.93%) and current (3.53%) prevalence of depressive disorders as compared to the younger adults (Sinha et.al., 2021). Data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) revealed that 29% of the older adults had high psychological distress and this study also highlighted a high prevalence of social isolation and loneliness in older adults (Srivastava et al., 2021). All these figures indicate significant prevalence of common mental health problems and distress in older adults and highlight the potential role of self-help tools in empowering older adults who may be experiencing milder levels of distress/symptoms and for complementing professional help in others who may be seeking professional help for moderate levels of depression and anxiety.

Although there is high penetration of internet and smartphone usage in India, the trends of use and research suggest that larger proportion of mental health app users are likely to be young adults /those in middle adulthood phases. Older adults may experience a variety of barriers including issues related to familiarity with technology and comfort in use of smartphone-based mental health apps. The existing research literature highlights the need for examining and taking in account perspectives of older adults, barriers and enablers to use of technology based mental health apps (Andrews et.al.,2019; Wilson, Heinsch, Betts et al. 2021; Vahia, Dickinson, & Trueba, 2022).). There is a dearth of research on these aspects in the Indian context. The study has the following objectives,

1. Explore the perspectives of older adults with common mental health concerns on the usefulness of various technology-based platforms for accessing resources related to self-help for mental health

2.Exploring preferences of the above-mentioned group in terms of various technology-based platforms for accessing resources related to self-help for mental health in terms of type of platforms and features /attributes of the platform/s

3. To develop a platform that utilizes the perspectives and preferences of older adults for hosting self-help material for common mental health concerns

4.To examine usability of the newly developed platform in older adults with common mental health concerns

One to one interview will be conducted with older adults meeting the sample selection criteria till theme saturation (anticipated number being 15-20). An attempt will be made to recruit older adults from diverse backgrounds (urban/semi-urban, rural), all genders, variable educational levels, those visiting outpatient settings as well as those in community who self-report depressive /anxiety symptoms or distress. The sample selection will be purposive, and recruitment will be carried out through announcements in outpatient settings, a community wellbeing centre and via senior citizen groups (Sample selection criteria are mentioned in part 6 of the trial details). For the purpose of usability assessment, information on the platform that will be finally developed based on the initial phase will be shared with a sample of 10-20 older adults who will be selected like the phase 1 process. They will be provided access to the platform for exploring its content. A one-to-one interview will be conducted at the end of one week period for exploring their feedback on usability and potential acceptability. Modifications may be undertaken as per the feedback received. The expected outcome of the study is the creation of an easy to use WhatsApp based self-help resource for common mental health concerns and well being based on older adults’ perspectives.