Parent and caregiver preferences for eHealth programs

Online programs serve as an important avenue for delivering mental health and parenting services worldwide. The quantity of online programs proliferated during the COVID-19 pandemic with developers emphasizing the potential to improve accessibility and reduce barriers of in-person programming (e.g., arranging transportation, childcare, and scheduling). However, Canadian parents' and caregivers' preferences for features they desire in online family mental health supports are unknown. Understanding these preferences would better allow for the creation of programs that are best suited to meet parents' needs. Thus, the present study examined parent mental health program preferences, barriers to access, and how different sociodemographic factors predicted preferences for aspects such as program features (e.g., duration delivery format).

Self-report surveys were administered in 2023 via the online crowdsourcing platform AskingCanadians to parents and primary caregivers of children ages 0 to 5 years. Descriptive statistics examined parent mental health program preferences and barriers. Regression models examined sociodemographic predictors of these preferences and barriers.

Participants identified a range of preferences across program structure and coaching, as well as challenges associated with program access. Parents most preferred programs with a web-based delivery format (72%), a duration of 2-4 weeks (27%), and psychologists as program coaches (51.4%). The most highly endorsed barriers were lack of time (42.2%) and limited internet access (25.1%). Sociodemographic factors including parent gender, household income, education, and ethnicity also consistently predicted preference for various program characteristics.

This research provides an important first step toward creating more accessible online mental health and parent mental health programs by ensuring the voices of the parents who will use these services are heard in program development and adaptation. Future research should investigate how to address accessibility and inclusivity barriers to participating in parent mental health programs for diverse families based on their differential preferences.