Digital strategies of public youth mental health services to raise awareness of their existence

Abstract Background Data from a survey of the first part of the eHealthLit4teen Project show that adolescents in the city of Barcelona (12-16 years old) are not aware of the public youth mental health services (YMHS) available in the city. Considering the intensive use that young people make of digital platforms, YMHS might leverage these channels to raise young people’s awareness of available resources, which would impact on the help-seeking behaviours. The aim of this work is to analyse the social media strategies for the dissemination of public YMHS and emotional well-being services (promoted by the city council and the regional government) in Barcelona. Methods Identification of public YMHS and emotional wellbeing services, and interview on the use of social networks for dissemination with those responsible for the services and communication (March-April 2024). Analysis of the use of persuasive design and behavioural design techniques by the social media profiles of these services and, by way of contrast, the influencers who publish mental health content identified by the adolescents in the previous survey of the Project (March 2023). Results Public YMHS mainly rely on outreach through face-to-face visits to high schools. This format makes it easier for reluctant young people to access formal support, but more difficult for them to seek support because of stigma. In general, public YMHS do not show a clear strategy to disseminate their service on social media, and the information provided confusion between the characteristics of the services offered. Likewise, there is no widespread use of behavioural design or persuasive design techniques in the publications of health services on social media, nor in those of influencers. Conclusions Public YMHS do not make efficient use of the digital platforms that young people use intensively to raise awareness of their existence and increase usage. Key messages • There is no clear digital strategy for communicating public youth mental health services (YMHS), although they recognise that digital platforms can be a good means of dissemination. • YMHS need to be accessible on digital platforms to young people’s adults of reference (especially for younger teens), as they are the ones who seek out online the existence of this type of services.