Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul 27;22(1):502.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-04146-0.

Information needs and sources of information among people with depression and anxiety: a scoping review

Frederick H F Chan  1 , Xiaowen Lin  1 , Konstadina Griva  1 , Mythily Subramaniam  1   2 , Ivan Ćelić  3 , Lorainne Tudor Car  4   5
Affiliations

Information needs and sources of information among people with depression and anxiety: a scoping review

Frederick H F Chan et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have identified substantial unmet information needs in people with depression and anxiety. Sufficient information about the disorder, treatment, available services, and strategies for self-management is essential as it may influence quality of care and patients' quality of life. This scoping review aimed to provide a broad overview of information needs of people with depression and anxiety as well as the sources that they use to seek this information.

Methods: We included all primary research published in English that investigated information needs or information sources in people with depression or anxiety, with no restrictions imposed on the study design, location, setting, or participant characteristics. Six electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, LISTA, Web of Science) and the grey literature (Google and Google Scholar) were searched for relevant studies published up to November 2021. Two reviewers independently screened articles and extracted data. Narrative synthesis was performed to identify key themes of information needs and information sources. Factors associated with information needs/sources such as demographic variables and symptom severity were also identified.

Results: Fifty-six studies (comprising 8320 participants) were included. Information needs were categorised into seven themes, including general facts, treatment, lived experience, healthcare services, coping, financial/legal, and other information. The most frequently reported needs in both people with depression and anxiety were general facts and treatment information. Subclinical samples who self-reported depressive/anxious symptoms appeared less interested in treatment information than patients with clinical diagnoses. Information sources were summarised into five categories: health professionals, written materials, media, interpersonal interactions, and organisational resources. Health professionals and media (including the internet) were the most frequently adopted and preferred sources. Although few studies have examined factors associated with information needs and information sources, there is preliminary evidence that symptom severity and disease subtypes are related to information needs/sources, whereas findings on demographic factors were mixed.

Conclusions: Information needs appear to be high in people with depression and anxiety. Future research should examine differences between subgroups and associated factors such as the treatment course. Personalised information provision strategies are also needed to customise information according to individual needs and patient profiles.

Trial registration: The protocol of this scoping review was registered on Open Science Framework (OSF; link: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/DF2M6 ).

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Information need; Information seeking; Information source; Scoping review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA flow diagram illustrating the search process
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Publication frequency, by year, of included studies reporting each theme of information needs
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Publication frequency, by year, of included studies reporting each category of information sources
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. COVID-19 Mental Disorders Collaborators Global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet. 2021;6736:1–13. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02143-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kalin NH. The critical relationship between anxiety and depression. Am J Psychiatry. 2020;177:365–7. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20030305. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yang X, Fang Y, Chen H, Zhang T, Yin X, Man J, et al. Global, regional and national burden of anxiety disorders from 1990 to 2019: results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2021;30:e36. doi: 10.1017/S2045796021000275. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. GBD 2019 Diseases and Injuries Collaborators Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2020;396:1204–22. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30925-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang PS, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Alonso J, Angermeyer MC, Borges G, Bromet EJ, et al. Use of mental health services for anxiety, mood, and substance disorders in 17 countries in the WHO world mental health surveys. Lancet. 2007;370:841–50. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61414-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types