Harnessing Mobile Technology to Reduce Mental Health Disorders in College Populations (iAIM EDU)

The Washington University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Eating Disorders; Anxiety Disorders; Depressive Disorder

Treatments: Device: SilverCloud Health Intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT04162847

201901073

R01MH115128 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The prevalence of mental health problems among college populations has risen steadily in recent decades, with one third of today's students struggling with anxiety, depression, or an eating disorder (ED). Yet, only 20-40% of college students with mental disorders receive treatment. Inadequacies in mental health care delivery result in prolonged illness, disease progression, poorer prognosis, and greater likelihood of relapse, highlighting the need for a new approach for detecting mental health problems and engaging college students in services. The investigators have developed a transdiagnostic, low-cost mobile health targeted prevention and intervention platform that uses population-level screening for engaging college students in tailored services that address common mental health problems. This care delivery system represents an ideal model given its use of evidence-based mobile programs, a transdiagnostic approach that addresses comorbid mental health issues, and personalized screening and intervention to increase service uptake, enhance engagement, and improve outcomes. Further, this service delivery model harnesses the expertise of an interdisciplinary team of behavioral scientists, college student mental health scholars, technology researchers, and health economists. This work bridges the study team's collective leadership over the past 25 years in successfully implementing a population-based screening program in more than 160 colleges and demonstrating the effectiveness of Internet-based programs for targeted prevention and intervention for anxiety, depression, and EDs. Through this study, Investigators will test the impact of this mobile mental health platform for service delivery in a large-scale trial across a diverse range of U.S. colleges. Students who screen positive or at high-risk for clinical anxiety, depression, or EDs (excluding anorexia nervosa, for which more intensive medical monitoring is warranted) and who are not currently engaged in mental health services will be randomly assigned to: 1) intervention via the mobile mental health platform; or 2) referral to usual care (i.e., campus health or counseling center).

Participants in the study will be enrolled for 2 years and asked to complete surveys at baseline, 6 weeks, 6 months, and 2 years.

Enrollment: 6,205 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Undergraduate students at participating colleges and universities who are 18 years old and older.
• Students who screen has high risk or clinical/subclinical for anxiety, depression, and, eating disorders.
• Students who are not currently in treatment, i.e., in the past month

Exclusion criteria

• Students who do not own a smartphone
• Students who are currently engaged in mental health treatment
• Students with anorexia nervosa

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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6,205 participants in 2 patient groups

Mobile Coached Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

This group will receive access to the mobile intervention for 6 months. They will be assigned to the primary program (i.e., anxiety, depression, or eating disorders) they screen positive for. If a person screens positive for more than one disorder, they will be given the choice of which program they want to start with. They will also be provided preventive interventions for anxiety, depressive, or eating of disorders they may not have but be at risk for. After two weeks in the program, the coach will assign the components presumed to be essential to intervention effects for comorbid disorder(s) and risk factors.

Treatment:

Device: SilverCloud Health Intervention

Referral to Counseling Center

No Intervention group

Description:

This group will receive information about how to make an appointment at their counseling center and will be encouraged to do so.