What explains trust in online mental health therapy provision platforms? An online descriptive survey.

ABSTRACT

Background: Currently, there is an increased interest in providing mental health care through digital devices and services, and the demand for these services is growing. Objective: In this study, we considered the phenomenon of trust in online consultations, and the factors affecting this trust, within a Russian context. Methods: An online survey was conducted using Google Forms in May 2023 and the data were analyzed using SPSS. All the participants were students from Moscow universities aged from 18 to 35 years. The final sample consisted of 203 students, of which 154 (75.9%) were women, 44 (21.7%) were men, and five (2.5%) preferred not to specify their gender. Results: We found that students had a high level of trust, which depended on personal factors, such as experience, socio-economic status, and age, and contextual factors, such as geographical and temporal independence, price of the session, availability of recommendations, popularity of the platform, and the level of technical equipment.