Contemporary interventions tackling complex issues: exploring pathways from online mental health forums to personal resilience

This paper identifies and examines pathways in which online mental health forums assist in building personal resilience and address the mental ill-health of rural residents. We use a resilience theory to develop a Theoretical Resilience Framework and apply it to empirical qualitative data deriving from three of Australia’s online mental health forums as well as interviews with forum users. Using thematic analysis and an abductive approach to generating new knowledge, we develop a logic model illustrating links between factors influencing personal resilience, factors acting upon resilience, and intermediate and long-term outcomes that online mental health forums have on their users. Our study demonstrates that online forums can provide ongoing and timely services to those in need, and they support the adaptive capacity of individuals to cope with stressors and a variety of challenges they face. Embedded in a rural setting, the paper adds understanding to the role of technology and online forums in addressing geographical isolation. Ultimately, our work helps to develop new sources of knowledge about rural resilience and supporting mental health service provision in rural places.