Health Services and New Media: ReachOut'com

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Health Services and New Media ReachOut.com

• Our values
• Compassion
• Generosity
• Inclusiveness
• Responsibility
• Fun

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Why Inspire?

• Suicide rates down by 56 since 1997
• 1 in 5 experience depression
• 1 in 10 suffer from an anxiety disorder
• 1 in 30 make a serious attempt at suicide

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The extent of the challenge

• Of the one in four with a mental health
  problem,only 29 contact a professional service
  of any type.

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Technology and young people

• Young people 15 -17 years old
• Over 94 accessed the internet in last 12 months
• Increase from 83 in previous 12 months
• 66 use the internet at least daily
• How are they using it?
• Most common activities are games, homework and
  downloading music
• Emergence of social networking and user-generated
  content sites e.g. MySpace, YouTube, Twitter
• 40 say they cant live without the internet

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Where do young people turn for advice and
support?
Mission Australia, 2008
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Our programs

• Reach Out provides information, support and
  resources to help young people improve
  their understanding of mental health issues and
  increase resilience, coping skills
  and help-seeking behaviour.

Helps young people help themselves through tough
times
Supports young people to become more connected to
their community
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About Reach Out
Research-supported, young
people created information (e.g., fact sheets,
stories)
Portable digital media (e.g. SMS, podcasting)
Tools for mental health professionals(e.g.
teachers, psychologists)
Interactive game(Reach Out Central)
Self-expression (e.g. social networking )
Online community (e.g. moderated forum)
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The Nudge you know you need
TVC here
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Man Week the power of blogging
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Reach Out in Habbo
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Launch campaign results

• Direct traffic up 26 YOY
• 15,000 visits (at a cost of 1.16 p/u)
• Online campaign delivered 12,352 clicks in 5
  weeks.
• Banner click through rate 3 times industry
  average
• Reached 1.16 million in target audience

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Reach Out evaluation
Total visits to end September 2008 9.5
Million 08-09 1.4 million visits alone
587,000 unique users since launch (1998)
Highly engaged users 83 stay on for 11 mins
or longer
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User experience on and beyond the website
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The Impact reduced stigma

• 82 of young people learnt more about mental
  health issues
• 79 are less worried what other people think
  about mental health issues

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The Impact increased help seeking and coping
skills

• 74 learnt where to get help
• 88 had spoken to someone about their tough time
• 59 actually went to get professional help

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The impact increased social connectedness

• 72 of young people said Reach Out made them feel
  like theyre not alone
• 92 have spoken to a friend or family about a
  mental health or social issue

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Health promotion and young people

• Internet and mobile more important than
  traditional media.
• Communication needs to be interactive and
  evolutionary.
• New media presents new risks and opportunities,
  but it is a matter of adapt or perish
• Deliver info on sensitive issues through
  high-trust sources participation and peer
  networks.

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Thank you from us all!
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Contact details

• Philippa Collin
• Director of Programs and Research
• Direct Phone [phone]
• Email pippa_at_inspire.org.au
• Atari Metcalf
• SSA strategy project manager
• Email atari_at_inspire.org.au