Digital technology and mental health training needs survey
18 May 2023
Building on their work around creating guidance for conversations on mental health and digital technology with young people, University of Bristol researchers have now launched a follow-up research project and survey. Both the project and survey aim to address the training needs of mental health practitioners interested in discussing digital technology use with young people.
This new project will explore how communication barriers between mental health practitioners and young people can be broken down. The first stage of the project involves inviting mental health practitioners to complete a survey about their knowledge gaps and training in this area. Researchers will then ask young people to help develop and disseminate resources to accompany the good practice guidance already created by the study team.
The survey is now live. It is targeted at practitioners over the age of 18, currently providing children and young people with mental health care in the UK or . As well as practitioners working in the health and care sector, the study team would also like to hear from those working in the charity sector and higher education.
The survey consists of 24 questions about:
Current practice (e.g., how frequently practitioners speak with young people about their online activity)
Knowledge gaps and needs (e.g., what topics should be included in training)
Resources (e.g., what kinds of resources would be helpful for practitioners)
How practitioners would like these resources to be delivered (e.g., via workshops, podcasts, online learning modules etc.)
The survey is designed to be accessible, user-friendly and brief. It combines multiple choice, rating scale and open-ended questions. It will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. At the end of it, participants are asked whether they want to take part in an optional follow-up focus group. They are also invited to be entered into a prize draw for a £50 Amazon voucher.
Zoë Haime, senior research associate working on the project, said:
“There are growing concerns regarding the potential impact of digital technology on young people’s mental health. Issues such as promotion of suicidal behaviour, self-harm, and disordered eating have become major policy concerns.”