An Online Intervention Addressing Mental Health and Substance Use in University Students

University of British Columbia

Status: Completed

Conditions: Alcohol Use; Substance Use; Depression; Anxiety

Treatments: Behavioral: Minder

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05606601

H21-03248

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of mobile app containing a range of evidence based tools to improve the mental health and substance use outcomes of university students.

Full description

There is a need for scalable interventions to support the mental health and substance use challenges experienced by university students. One means of addressing this need is through the use of e-mental health tools that facilitate self-management and connect students to in-person supports as needed. This is a randomized controlled trial of a mobile app designed to help university students manage their mental health and substance use via a set of evidence-based tools that have been integrated into a single mobile app. The recruitment of approximately 1500 students will occur through social media, promotion by faculty members and administrators, and other in-person recruitment methods. Assessments will be conducted using self-report web surveys at baseline, 14 days (interim assessment) and 30 days (follow-up assessment). The goal of the trial is to assess the effectiveness of the app in improving a range of mental health and substance use outcomes of university students from baseline to follow-up.

Enrollment: 1,489 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 17+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Must be currently enrolled at participating university
2. Must be 17 years or older
3. Must have access to and be able to use a smart phone with Wi-Fi and/or mobile data
4. Must be English speaking

Exclusion criteria

1. Any participants that self-identify as currently having a suicidal plan at the time of study enrollment

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

1,489 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention arm

Experimental group

Description:

Participants randomized into the intervention arm will be given immediate access to a fully functional version of the Minder app that includes baseline, interim and follow-up surveys and access to all app components and e-coaching.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Minder

Control arm

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants randomized into the control arm will be given access to a restricted version of the app that only includes access to a generic study introduction video and baseline and follow up survey assessments delivered via the app.