Perception and appropriation of a web-based recovery narratives intervention: qualitative interview study

Area of Science:

• Digital health interventions
• Mental health recovery
• Online narrative collections

Background:

• Mental health recovery narratives are publicly available and beneficial.
• The NEON Intervention provides access to the NEON Collection of recovery narratives.
• Previous trials (NEON-O and NEON) found the NEON Intervention effective for various mental health conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document user experiences with the NEON Intervention.
• To conduct an integrated process evaluation of the NEON Intervention.
• To gather insights for improving digital health narrative interventions.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of interviews with participants from the NEON and NEON-O Trials.
• Purposive sampling of intervention arm participants who completed trials.
• Qualitative data collection from 54 participants (34 NEON, 20 NEON-O).

Main Results:

• User engagement varied from daily to infrequent access.
• Motivations included seeking alternatives, answers, professional development, and incentives.
• High engagement was linked to narratives providing distraction, emotional boosts, and social support.
• Authenticity was key: narratives acknowledging difficulties, describing real-world experiences, and resonating with users' own experiences were valued.
• Narrative scale was appreciated but could be overwhelming; finding desired narratives enhanced engagement.

Conclusions:

• Digital health interventions should highlight collection scale and diversity.
• Delivery mechanisms should support user appropriation of narratives.
• Authenticity in narratives is crucial for user engagement.
• Interventions can facilitate learning for healthcare professionals.
• Digital narratives may help address loneliness.