An Experimental Study on the Effectiveness of Individualized Online Intervention for Mental Health Literacy of Community Residents

Background:Understanding how to improve mental health literacy is conducive to maintaining and promoting individuals’mental health and well-being.However,to date,interventions for mental health literacy primarily depend on traditional education and contact interventions,which have limitations with regard to pertinence and individualization.Artificial intelligence(AI)and big data technology have influenced mental health services to be more intellectual and digital,and they also provide greater technical convenience for individualized interventions for promoting mental health literacy.However,there is relatively little research on the effectiveness of individualized online intervention for mental health literacy in the literature.This study aims to fill this void.To verify whether individualized online intervention can improve the level of mental health literacy.Methods:We conducted a pretest–post-test control experiment.The participants were recruited from a large community located in central China.A total of 152 participants completed the research.We use mixed linear model estimation and paired t-tests to analyze the data.Results:Individualized online intervention can effectively improve the mental health literacy level of participants.Specifically,we found that compared with the control group,the mental health literacy in the experimental group was significantly improved after receiving individualized online intervention.Likewise,the mental health literacy of the control group has also improved after receiving individualized online intervention.In addition,we compared the mental health literacy level of the experimental group at Time 3 to those at Time 2 and found that the mental health literacy level at Time 3 had not decreased one month later.This shows that individualized online intervention was not only momentarily effective,but also had long-term efficacy.Conclusion:This study illustrates that the individualized online intervention has both great momentary and long-term effectiveness in improving community residents’mental health literacy.

Evaluating the implementation of rapid diagnostic tests in a malaria elimination setting

Background It was recommended that malaria rapid diagnostic tests(RDTs)should be available in all epidemiological situations.But evidence was limited on the implementation of RDTs and its effectiveness in malaria elimination settings.This study examined the implementation of RDTs and how it affected the diagnosis of imported malaria patients in Jiangsu Province,China.Methods To scale up RDTs,this study developed an intervention package with four major elements covering the supply of RDT test,the training on RDTs,the monitoring and management of RDT use,and the advocacy of RDTs.By using a pretest-posttest control group design,we implemented the interventions in 4 cities in Jiangsu Province with the rest nine cities as controlled areas,from January 2017 to January 2018.Difference-in-Difference approach was used to evaluate the impact of the scale-up of RDTs on the identification of malaria cases.Three binary outcome measures were included to indicate delayed malaria diagnosis,malaria cases with confirmed malaria diagnosis at township-level institutions,and severe malaria cases,respectively.Linear probability regression was performed with time and group fixed effects and the interaction term between time and group.Results Intervention areas received sufficient RDT test supply,regular professional training programs,monthly tracking and management of RDT supply and use,and health education to targeted population.The implementation of interventions was associated with 10.8%(P=0.021)fewer patients with delayed diagnosis.But intervention areas did not see a higher likelihood of having confirmed diagnosis from township-level institutions(coefficient=-0.038,P=0.185)or reduced severe malaria cases(coef.=0.040,P=0.592).Conclusions The comprehensive package of RDT implementation in this study is promising in scaling up RDT use and improving access to care among malaria patients,especially in malaria elimination settings.