Evaluating The Impact of A Mental Health App on Depression and Resilience Among Medical Students: A Randomized Controlled Study
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- Sponsor
- National University of Malaysia
- Enrollment
- 220
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Depressive symptoms
Overview
Brief Summary
This randomized controlled trial aims to determine whether access to a mental health app improves resilience and reduces depressive symptoms among medical students over a three-month period.
Compared to the control group, researchers hypothesized that medical students in the intervention group are expected to show:
- Significant reductions in depressive symptoms and greater improvements in resilience after three months of usage.
- Significant reduction in thoughts of self-harm and anxiety, and improvement in self-esteem after three months of usage.
Researchers will compare two groups to evaluate the app's impact on wellbeing:
- Intervention group: Receives immediate full access to the mental health app.
- Control group: Receives basic, without full access to the mental health app.
Participants will explore and experience the various features offered in the mental health app over a three-month period.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Treatment
- Masking
- Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to 30 Years (Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •Aged 18 to 30;
- •Enrolled in medical school (preclinical or clinical years);
- •Owns a smartphone;
- •Able to read and understand English.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Does not consent to study.
Arms & Interventions
Intervention Group
Participants in the intervention group will receive immediate full access to the mental health app services during the study period.
Intervention: Full digital mental health intervention (Behavioral)
Control Group
Participants in the control group will receive basic, without full access to the mental health app services during the study period (active control).
Intervention: Basic digital mental health intervention (Behavioral)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Depressive symptoms
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months
Depressive symptoms will be assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, developed by Kroenke et al. (2001). This 9-item instrument assesses the frequency of depressive symptoms over the past two weeks. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale, yielding a total severity score ranging from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating greater severity of depressive symptoms.
Resilience
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months
Resilience will be measured using the Brief Resilience Scale developed by Smith et al. (2008). This 6-item instrument assesses the ability to recover from stress. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale, yielding a total score ranging from 6 to 30, with higher scores indicating greater resilience.
Secondary Outcomes
- Anxiety(Baseline and 3 months)
- Self-esteem(Baseline and 3 months)
- Subjective wellbeing(Baseline and 3 months)
Investigators
Jane Lim Tze Yn
Principal Investigator; Psychiatrist
National University of Malaysia