Dataset Information

Exploring student preferences for implementing a digital mental health intervention in a university setting: Qualitative study within a randomised controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Digital interventions can be effective in preventing and treating common mental health conditions among university students. Incorporating student experiences and perspectives in the design and implementation of these programmes may improve uptake and engagement. This qualitative study explored university students' perspectives of a low-intensity video-based mental health intervention, their recommendations for implementing the programme in university settings, and their views and recommendations to address barriers to engagement.

Methods

Participants (N = 115) were students (mean = 20.63 years, SD = 2.10) with elevated distress from 31 Australian universities drawn from a randomised controlled trial of the Uni Virtual Clinic-Lite (UVC-Lite). Data from students randomised to the intervention condition were collected via semi-structured interviews (n = 12) and open-ended questions during post-intervention surveys (n = 103). Data were analysed using content analysis.

Results

Participants generally reported positive views of the intervention, and most felt it should be offered to students as a universal intervention. Multiple methods of disseminating the intervention were suggested, including through university counselling, official platforms (e.g. student support services) and informal channels (e.g. word-of-mouth promotion). Difficulty integrating the programme into everyday life, pre-existing beliefs about mental health and technology-related factors were highlighted as barriers to engagement.

Conclusion

A low-intensity video-based mental health intervention was generally considered to be acceptable and appropriate for students with mild to moderate distress. Participants provided several suggestions to encourage uptake of the intervention and possible pathways to disseminate the intervention to students. The effectiveness of these should be examined in future trials.

SUBMITTER: Jackson HM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11367696 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Exploring student preferences for implementing a digital mental health intervention in a university setting: Qualitative study within a randomised controlled trial.

Jackson Hayley M HM Gulliver Amelia A Hasking Penelope P Leach Liana L Batterham Philip J PJ Calear Alison L AL Farrer Louise M LM

Digital health 20240101

<h4>Objective</h4>Digital interventions can be effective in preventing and treating common mental health conditions among university students. Incorporating student experiences and perspectives in the design and implementation of these programmes may improve uptake and engagement. This qualitative study explored university students' perspectives of a low-intensity video-based mental health intervention, their recommendations for implementing the programme in university settings, and their views ...[more]

PMID: 39224795

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Project description:Internet-based interventions are recognised as a practical approach to address mental health issues. The acceptance and utilisation of such interventions are closely linked to user attitudes and preferences. This study aims to examine the predictors of university students' attitudes towards internet-based interventions. Additionally, it seeks to elucidate students' preferences regarding crucial features of these interventions, such as the format, delivery mode, content type, and structural components, to understand better what makes these interventions appealing and practical for university students. A total of 273 university students (comprising 68 % females and 32 % males) participated in the study. The data collection instruments employed were the Personal Information Form, Internet-Based Intervention Preference Survey, E-therapy Attitude Measure (ETAM), Digital Literacy Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). The data were analysed utilising descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis. The multiple regression analysis revealed digital literacy as a predictive factor for attitudes towards internet-based interventions. Demographic variables, such as age and gender, and psychological variables, such as depression and anxiety levels, were found not to be associated with attitudes towards these interventions. While students are actively seeking mental health information online, a significant majority remain unaware of internet-based interventions. They show a preference for interventions offering greater human interaction, including face-to-face guidance and video content featuring people. Participants favour completing one or two sessions of the intervention weekly. Desired features of internet-based interventions include self-assessment scales, relatable characters, voice relaxation exercises, practical daily life activity tasks, and weekly reminders throughout the process. In conclusion, initiatives aimed at enhancing digital literacy levels could foster more positive attitudes towards internet-based interventions among students. Developers creating Internet-Based Interventions (IBI) for university students should consider these preferences.

Project description:BackgroundUniversity students incur significantly elevated levels of stress compared to the general population and their non-student counterparts. Health risk behaviours are important modifiable determinants for the onset and aggravation of various mental health disorders, in which, university students generally exhibit poor engagement. Thus, this study aims to determine the efficacy of health behaviour interventions in relation to change in health behaviour and mental health outcomes, the impact of interventions (i.e., penetration, fidelity, and implementation), intervention characteristics associated with improved outcomes (efficacy) and the economic evaluation of interventions.MethodsSix electronic databases were searched for randomised controlled trials (RCT) published from the 1st January 2012 to 11th July 2023. Eligible RCTs included university students, evaluated behavioural interventions targeting health behaviours (i.e. dietary intake, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, alcohol use, substance use, smoking, and sleep) and reported a change in both health behaviour and mental health outcomes.ResultsTwenty-two RCTs met the study inclusion criteria. Overall, only seven studies were effective in improving both health behaviour and mental health outcomes, with most (n = 4) focused on improving sleep behaviours. Insufficient evidence was found regarding intervention impact, intervention characteristics associated with improved outcomes and the economic evaluation of interventions to guide future implementation of health behaviour interventions in universities due to inadequate reporting of outcomes.ConclusionsThere is limited evidence regarding the efficacy of health behaviour interventions in improving both health behaviour and mental health outcomes. There is also insufficient evidence regarding intervention impact, intervention characteristics associated with improved outcomes and economic evaluation to guide the implementation of these interventions in the university setting.

Project description:BackgroundDesigners of digital interventions for mental health often leverage interactions from games because the intrinsic motivation that results from game-based interventions may increase participation and translate into improved treatment efficacy. However, there are outstanding questions about the suitability (eg, are desktop or mobile interventions more appropriate?) and intervention potential (eg, do people with depression activate enough to play?) of games for mental health.ObjectiveIn this paper, we aimed to describe the presently unknown relationship between gaming activity and indicators of well-being so that designers make informed choices when designing game-based interventions for mental health.MethodsWe gathered validated scales of well-being (Beck's Depression Inventory [BDI-II], Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9], trait anxiety [TA], and basic psychological needs satisfaction [BPNS]), play importance (control over game behavior: control; gamer identity: identity), and play behavior (play frequency, platform preferences, and genre preferences) in a Web-based survey (N=491).ResultsThe majority of our participants played games a few times a week (45.3%, 222/490) or daily (34.3%, 168/490). In terms of depression, play frequency was associated with PHQ-9 (P=.003); PHQ-9 scores were higher for those who played daily than for those who played a few times a week or less. Similarly, for BDI-II (P=.01), scores were higher for those who played daily than for those who played once a week or less. Genre preferences were not associated with PHQ-9 (P=.32) or BDI-II (P=.68); however, platform preference (ie, mobile, desktop, or console) was associated with PHQ-9 (P=.04); desktop-only players had higher PHQ-9 scores than those who used all platforms. Platform preference was not associated with BDI-II (P=.18). In terms of anxiety, TA was not associated with frequency (P=.23), platform preference (P=.07), or genre preference (P=.99). In terms of needs satisfaction, BPNS was not associated with frequency (P=.25) or genre preference (P=.53), but it was associated with platform preference (P=.01); desktop-only players had lower needs satisfaction than those who used all platforms. As expected, play frequency was associated with identity (P<.001) and control (P<.001); those who played more had identified more as a gamer and had less control over their gameplay. Genre preference was associated with identity (P<.001) and control (P<.001); those who played most common genres had higher control over their play and identified most as gamers. Platform preference was not associated with control (P=.80), but was with identity (P=.001); those who played on all devices identified more as a gamer than those who played on mobiles or consoles only.ConclusionsOur results suggest that games are a suitable approach for mental health interventions as they are played broadly by people across a range of indicators of mental health. We further unpack the platform preferences and genre preferences of players with varying levels of well-being.

Project description:BackgroundThe majority of university students with mental health problems are untreated. Only a small empirical literature exists on strategies to increase mental health service use.AimsTo investigate the effects and moderators of a brief acceptance-facilitating intervention on intention to use mental health services among university students.MethodWithin the German site of the World Health Organization's World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative, 1,374 university students were randomized to an intervention condition (IC; n = 664) or a control condition (CC; n = 710) that was implemented in the survey itself. Both conditions received the questions assessing mental disorders and suicidality that were included in other WMH-ICS surveys. The IC group then additionally received: Internet-based personalized feedback based on subject symptom severity in the domains of depression, anxiety, substance use, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and nonsuicidal self-injury; psychoeducation tailored to the personal symptom profile; and information about available university and community mental health services. The primary outcome was reported intention to use psychological interventions in the next semester, which was the last question in the survey. A broad range of potential moderating factors was explored.ResultsThere was a significant main effect of the intervention with students randomized to IC, reporting significantly higher intentions to seek help in the next semester than students in the CC condition (d = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.23). Moderator analyses indicated that the intervention was more effective among students that fulfilled the criteria for lifetime (d = 0.34; 95% CI: -0.08 to 0.7) and 12-month panic-disorder (d = 0.32; 95% CI: -0.10 to 0.74) compared with those without lifetime (d = 0.11; 95% CI: 0.00 to 0.22) or 12-month panic disorder (d = 0.11; 95% CI: 0.00 to 0.22), students with lower (d = 0.37; 95% CI: -0.77 to 1.51) than higher (d = -0.01; 95% CI: -0.36 to 0.34) self-reported physical health, and students with nonheterosexual (d = 0.38; 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.67) compared with heterosexual (d = 0.06; 95% CI: -0.06 to 0.17) sexual orientation. The intervention had no effects among students who reported that they recognized that they had an emotional problem and "are already working actively to change it" (Stage 4 "stages of change").ConclusionsA simple acceptance-facilitating intervention can increase intention to use mental health services, although effects, are on average, small. Future studies should investigate more personalized approaches with interventions tailored to barriers and clinical characteristics of students. In order to optimize intervention effects, the development and evaluation should be realized in designs that are powered to allow incremental value of different intervention components and tailoring strategies to be evaluated, such as in multiphase optimization designs.

Project description:BACKGROUND:During university, students face some potentially serious health risks, and their lifestyle can have a direct effect on health and health behaviors later in life. Concurrently, university students are digital natives having easy access to the internet and new technologies. Digital health interventions offer promising new opportunities for health promotion, disease prevention, and care in this specific population. The description of the current use of and opinions on digital health among university students can inform future digital health strategies and interventions within university settings. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this exploratory study was to report on university students' use and opinions regarding information and communication technologies for health and well-being, taking into account sociodemographic and self-rated general and mental health correlates. METHODS:This field survey was conducted from March to April 2017. An informed consent form and a paper questionnaire were given to students aged 18 to 24 years in 4 university campuses in Bordeaux, France. The survey was formulated in 3 sections: (1) sociodemographic characteristics and self-rated general and mental health, (2) information about the use of digital health, and (3) opinions about digital health. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and tests of independence. RESULTS:A total of 59.8% (303/507 females) students completed the questionnaire. Concerning digital health use, 34.9% (174/498) had at least 1 health app mostly for physical activity (49.4%, 86/174) and general health monitoring (41.4%, 72/174,), but only 3.9% (20/507) of students had a wearable device. Almost all (94.8%, 450/476) had searched for Web-based health-related information at least once in the last 12 months. The most sought health-related topics were nutrition (68.1%, 324/476); pain and illnesses (64.5%, 307/476); and stress, anxiety, or depression (51.1%, 243/476). Although Wikipedia (79.7%, 357/448) and general health websites (349/448, 77.9%) were the most consulted sources, students considered institutional or official websites as the most credible sources (309/335, 92.2%). There were significant differences in digital health use by gender, field, and year of study. No statistically significant association was found between digital health use and self-rated general and mental health status. Concerning opinions on digital health, although 94.1% (475/505) of students estimated that today's digital health cannot replace traditional health services and medical consultations, 44.6% (207/464) of students declared that this could be possible in the future, provided that digital health interventions are promoted by institutional or official entities. CONCLUSIONS:University students are largely using the internet for health information seeking, but using less mobile health apps and very few wearable devices. Our data suggest that digital health has the potential for improving health and well-being at the university, especially if digital health interventions take into account students' profiles, interests, and needs.

Dataset Information

Exploring student preferences for implementing a digital mental health intervention in a university setting: Qualitative study within a randomised controlled trial.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Exploring student preferences for implementing a digital mental health intervention in a university setting: Qualitative study within a randomised controlled trial.

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