Raising Awareness of Self Harm

There is evidence of a recent increase in self-harm among young people in England. Statistics suggest that nationally, 7.3% of girls, and 3.6% of boys, aged 11 to 16, had self-harmed or attempted suicide at some point. The figures for 17 to 19 year olds were 21.5% for girls and 9.7% for boys. Over the course of someone’s lifetime, 1 in 14 people self-harm.

Over the last week colleagues at ORCHA have been looking at the impact digital health solutions have had in this sadly growing area of need.

• Searches in this area increased by 10.54% in 2023 compared to 2022
• On average (all time/since 2022) there are 405 searches per month for apps in this area
• 2023 average searches per month in the area was 426
• In the past 6 full calendar months (Aug 23 – Jan 24) there was a 7% increase in searches in this area compared to the previous 6 months (Feb 23 – July 23)
• Searches seem steady/slowly increasing in this area, showing a constant and consistent need for support in this area
• There was a 131% increase in downloads of apps in this category in 2023 compared to 2022
• In the past 6 full calendar months (Aug 23 – Jan 24) there was a 17% increase in downloads in this area compared to the previous 6 months (Feb 23 – July 23)
• January 2024 logged the highest amount of downloads in this category (with 112 downloads)
• The top 3 downloaded apps in this category are: distrACT (411 downloads – 36% of all mobile downloads in this area), Tellmi: Better Mental Health (238 downloads), Stay Alive (112 downloads)
• 46% of downloads of apps in this category have taken place on the Papyrus site

As Customer Success Manager Mike Pearce says,

“It shows that if people are struggling out there that there IS someone who will listen and there are digital health apps that can be used. So powerful the impact ORCHA is having with the Papyrus service“