An Efficacy Trial of the MindFi App for Stress, Well-being, and Sleep Quality in Working Adults

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Stress; Burnout

• Registration Number: NCT05085132
• Lead Sponsor: National University of Singapore

Brief Summary

90% of Asian workers report high levels of stress in an "always-on" culture. Stress and burnout are risk factors that account for 10-20% of health expenditure and threaten work longevity in the world's fastest growing economies. Traditional face-to-face sources of mental care such as counseling and psychotherapy are effective as a countermeasure to stress, but not always accessible or acceptable for those with busy lifestyles. Because of this, there is an urgent need for on-demand, scalable interventions to reduce stress and improve mental and physical well being. Technology-based solutions are increasingly being proposed to fill this need.

MindFi is a smartphone app that uses mindfulness exercises to help users cope with work stress and increase productivity. Since 2017, it has been featured by Apple, BBC, and Bloomberg and is being used at corporates such as Bain, Bloomberg, Cigna, and Zendesk. MindFi users contribute behavioral and self-report data, which are then used to generate individual recommendations for relevant, evidence-based exercises. These include mental care techniques such as mindfulness meditation, therapeutic journaling, psychosocial support and educational wellbeing quizzes.

In this study, the investigators will recruit 200 participants in a randomized controlled design, with 100 receiving access to content of the MindFi app, and 100 receiving access to a version containing music tracks for relaxation. Each intervention will last 4 weeks. Participants will use these apps for a period of 5 weeks (for a minimum of 10 minutes per day). Pre- and post-intervention, the investigators will measure self-reported ratings on a number of psychological variables, and will track sleep quality objectively for a one-week period.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2021-09-22
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-10-15
• Study First Posted: 2021-10-20
• Study Start: 2021-12-01
• Primary Completion: 2022-05-31
• Study Completion: 2022-05-31
• Status Verified: 2022-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-09-26
• Last Update Posted: 2022-09-28

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 192

Inclusion Criteria

1. Currently in full-time employment
2. Fluent in English
3. DASS-21 scores of at least 10 on the Stress subscale

Exclusion Criteria

1. Current diagnosis of a chronic psychological disorder, or sleep disorder
2. Regularly practising meditation

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
WHO Well-Being Index (WHO, 1998)	Week 0 (at the start of the intervention) and Week 5	Change in self-reported mental well being (min score: 0; max score: 25; greater increases in this score represent a better outcome)
Depression, Anxiety, And Stress Scale -- Stress subscale (Lovibond and Lovibond, 1985)	Week 0 (at the start of the intervention) and Week 5	Change in self-report measure of stress (min score: 0; max score: 21; greater reductions in this score represent a better outcome)
Change in Sleep Efficiency (Oura Ring)	Week 0 (at the start of the intervention) and Week 5	(Latency + wake time)/Time in bed, as calculated by the Oura app

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Depression, Anxiety, And Stress Scale -- Depression subscale (Lovibond and Lvibond, 1985)	Week 0 (at the start of the intervention) and Week 5	Change in Self-report measure of depression (min score: 0; max score: 21; greater reductions in this score represent a better outcome)
Depression, Anxiety, And Stress Scale -- Anxiety subscale (Lovibond and Lvibond, 1985)	Week 0 (at the start of the intervention) and Week 5	Change in Self-report measure of anxiety (min score: 0; max score: 21; greater reductions in this score represent a better outcome)
Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach et al., 1996)	Week 0 (at the start of the intervention) and Week 5	Change in self-report measure of burnout; 3 subscales: 1. Emotional exhaustion (min score: 0; max score: 54; greater reductions in this score represent a better outcome); 2. Depersonalization (min score: 0; max score: 30; greater reductions in this score represent a better outcome); 3. Personal achievement (min score: 0; max score: 48; greater increases in this score represent a better outcome)
Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (Baer et al., 2006)	Week 0 (at the start of the intervention) and Week 5	Change in Self-report measure of trait mindfulness (min score: 39; max score: 195; greater increases in this score represent a better outcome)
Brief Inventory of Thriving (Su et al., 2014)	Week 0 (at the start of the intervention) and Week 5	Change in Self-report measure of eudaimonic well-being (min score: 10; max score: 50; greater increases in this score represent a better outcome)
Resting heart rate during sleep (from Oura Ring)	Week 0 (at the start of the intervention) and Week 5	Objective measure of resting heart rate
Heart-rate variability during sleep (from Oura Ring)	Week 0 (at the start of the intervention) and Week 5	Objective measure of heart rate variability
Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985)	Week 0 (at the start of the intervention) and Week 5	Self-report measure of hedonic well being (min score: 5; max score: 35; greater increases in this score represent a better outcome)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

National University Singapore; 🇸🇬 Singapore, Singapore