Objective: This study aimed to understand Black American women's attitudes toward seeking mental health services and using mobile technology to receive support for managing anxiety.

Methods: A self-administered web-based questionnaire was launched in October 2019 and closed in January 2020. Women who identify as Black/African American were eligible to participate. The survey consisted of approximately 70 questions and covered topics such as attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, acceptability of using a mobile phone to receive mental health care, and screening for anxiety.

Results: The findings of the study (N=395) showed that younger Black women were more likely to have greater severity of anxiety than their older counterparts. Respondents were most comfortable with the use of a voice call or video call to communicate with a professional to receive support to manage anxiety in comparison to text messaging or mobile app. Younger age, higher income, and greater scores for psychological openness and help-seeking propensity increased the odds of indicating agreement with using mobile technology to communicate with a professional. Black women in the South region of the U.S. had twice the odds of agreeing to the use of mobile apps than women in the Midwest and Northeast regions.

Discussion: Black American women, in general, have favorable views toward the use of mobile technology to receive support to manage anxiety.

Conclusion: Preferences and cultural appropriateness of resources should be assessed on an individual basis to increase the likelihood of adoption of and engagement with digital mental health interventions for management of anxiety.

Objective: This study aimed to understand Black American women’s attitudes toward seeking mental health services and using mobile technology to receive support for managing anxiety and depression. Methods: A self-administered web-based questionnaire was launched in October 2019 and closed in January 2020. Women who identify as Black/African American were eligible to participate. The survey consisted of approximately 70 questions and covered topics such as attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, acceptability of using a mobile phone to receive mental health care, and screening for anxiety and depression. Results - Anxiety: The findings of the study (N=395) showed that younger Black women were more likely to have greater severity of anxiety than their older counterparts. Respondents were most comfortable with the use of a voice call or video call to communicate with a professional to receive support to manage anxiety in comparison to text messaging or mobile app. Younger..., , , This README file was generated on 2023-10-04 by Dr. Terika McCall.

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Title of Dataset: Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services and Use of Mobile Technology Survey.
2. Author Information A. Principal Investigator Contact Information Name: Terika McCall Institution: Division of Health Informatics, Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health Address: 60 College Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, United States Email: terika.mccall@yale.edu
3. Date of data collection (single date, range, approximate date): October 2019 to January 2020
4. Geographic location of data collection: United States
5. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: RO1 LM013477, T15 LM012500

SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION

1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: None

2. Links to publications that cite or use the data:

   McCall T, Foster M, Schwartz TA. Attitudes toward seeking mental health services and mobile techno...