The Efficacy of "Inner Peak" an AI-enabled Digital Wellness App on Mental Wellness Among a Sample of University of West Indies (UWI) Mona Students
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 入组人数
- 171
- 试验地点
- 1
- 主要终点
- Improvement in mental wellbeing
研究概览
简要总结
This study aims to test the efficacy of therapist-created video content delivered by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) conversational agent and recommendation algorithms (as in the Inner Peak app) among a sample of University of the West Indies, Mona (UWI) students in Jamaica for four weeks. Additionally, we aim to assess if relational accountability and increased users' re-engagement over time will improve mental wellbeing in comparison to a no intervention control group with self-report psychological measures on wellbeing, stress, anxiety and depression. Using a randomized controlled trial on a sample of consented university student volunteers 18 years and older, we sought to ascertain if engagement with an AI-enabled, video content-based mental wellness app will improve mental well-being and other psychological outcomes. In the study, a control group will receive email reminders about existing university mental health resources bi-weekly for 4 weeks. The treatment group will receive access to the Inner Peak mobile application, as well as instructions for how to use it. At the end of the study all participants will be provided with optional access to Inner Peak (waitlist control condition).
Using a power analysis a sample of 400 was calculated. Participants' responses will be anonymized using a unique encrypted key in a data protected account. Data collection will extend from December 2025 - July 2026. The encrypted data will be stored on a password-protected Google Drive account, with access limited to designated researchers. Data will be destroyed 5 years after it has been collected.
Outcome metrics will include increased re-engagement with the app and improvement in wellbeing, stress, anxiety, and depression. The study will use two clinically validated scales: the 14-item Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale. Descriptive statistics will be used to describe variables: means and standard deviations for continuous variables; frequencies and proportions for categorical variables. T-tests, correlation, and regression analyses will be used to determine the nature and strength of association between specific factors and outcome variables.
详细描述
Background
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries are facing a new epidemic of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. These rates are more prevalent among the more youthful population with recent research surveying 80,000 youth globally indicating that depressive and anxiety symptoms have doubled during the pandemic, with 25% of youth experiencing depressive symptoms and 20% experiencing anxiety symptoms. These statistics are even more stunning in some countries, as in the United States in 2021, 60% of college students surveyed across 370+ schools met the medical criteria to be diagnosed with a mental health challenge. This has a tremendous impact on student graduation rates, as students with a mental health challenge are three times as likely to drop out than students without mental health issues. Universities are losing top-line revenue as a result of student mental health, making mental health a top university concern.
Jamaica is not immune to these mental health challenges as according to the Jamaican Ministry of Health and Wellness, in 2016, 14% of Jamaicans experienced depression (NCPID). Though there have not been reliable reports conducted since the pandemic, if Jamaica followed the average global trend, upwards of 30-35% of the population would have experienced depression. Jamaica's limited economic resources make meeting physical and mental health needs extremely challenging. The patient to psychiatrist ratio in Jamaica is 100,000:1, and there are even fewer psychologists, with 1 for every 300,000 potential patients. Low mental health literacy further compounds these challenges. Further, various demographic factors such as gender, socio-economic factors, accessibility of resources, among others have been found to impact health-seeking behaviours among Jamaicans.
These barriers have necessitated healthcare professionals to consider innovative interventions that are accessible, effective, and tailored to the unique needs of Jamaicans. The University of the West Indies, one of the leading tertiary institutions in the Caribbean, is known for its contribution to healthcare interventions in Jamaica. The university acts as a microcosm of Jamaican society with indications of mental health challenges such as depression, trauma, anxiety, disordered eating behaviours prior to and more so since the pandemic.
The University's Health Center (UHC) is the designated facility to meet both the mental and physical needs of the university population. The UHC at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus (UWI - Mona) provides a wide range of primary and secondary health care services to members of the university community, including staff and their dependents, retirees and their spouses, students and at times visiting groups.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Na
- 干预模型
- Single Group
- 主要目的
- Health Services Research
- 盲法
- None
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Months 至 —（Child, Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •University of West Indies students aged 18+ who have signed our consent form.
- •Have access to an Android or Apple Device
- •Have a UWI email account
排除标准
- •Participants will be excluded if they
- •Are below the age of 18
- •Have not given written consent to participate
- •Do not attend UWI at the time of consenting to participate
研究组 & 干预措施
Device Group
This group is the only group that will receive access to the Inner Peak wellness app. The treatment group will receive a link to a video (and transcript) that describes the resources, as the control group's video, but with the addition of the Inner Peak resource. As part of the consent process to use the app, when students create an account, they will be asked to affirm that they will be the only one using the account from their phone. They will be directed to the questionnaires on wellbeing at baseline, assessed at 2 weeks and then at week 4. Students consent to the Inner Peak Terms of Service and Privacy Policy as part of onboarding to the app. Students must explicitly accept that if their lives or the lives of someone else might be in danger, their information can be shared with healthcare administrators at their school.
干预措施: Control group (Behavioral)
Device Group
This group is the only group that will receive access to the Inner Peak wellness app. The treatment group will receive a link to a video (and transcript) that describes the resources, as the control group's video, but with the addition of the Inner Peak resource. As part of the consent process to use the app, when students create an account, they will be asked to affirm that they will be the only one using the account from their phone. They will be directed to the questionnaires on wellbeing at baseline, assessed at 2 weeks and then at week 4. Students consent to the Inner Peak Terms of Service and Privacy Policy as part of onboarding to the app. Students must explicitly accept that if their lives or the lives of someone else might be in danger, their information can be shared with healthcare administrators at their school.
干预措施: Intervention Group (Device)
结局指标
主要结局
Improvement in mental wellbeing
时间窗: 2 weeks and 4 weeks
Pre and post test differences of improvement in wellbeing will be measured through self-reported, clinically validated scales-higher scores on the 14-item Warwick - Edinburgh Wellbeing Scale and lower scores on 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21)
次要结局
未报告次要终点
研究者
CARYL JAMES
Prof. Eating Disorders, Body Image and Mental Health
The University of The West Indies