Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing Among Post-secondary Students with the JoyPop™ App: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Overview

Journal Trials

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties General Medicine
Pharmacology

Date 2024 Sep 2

PMID 39223596

Authors

Angela MacIsaac

Vamika Mann

Elaine Toombs

Fred Schmidt

Janine V Olthuis

Sherry H Stewart

Amanda Newton

Arto Ohinmaa

Aislin R Mushquash

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Technology use may be one strategy to promote mental health and wellbeing among young adults in post-secondary education settings experiencing increasing distress and mental health difficulties. The JoyPop™ app is mobile mental health tool with a growing evidence base. The objectives of this research are to (1) evaluate the effectiveness of the JoyPop™ app in improving emotion regulation skills (primary outcome), as well as mental health, wellbeing, and resilience (secondary outcomes); (2) evaluate sustained app use once users are no longer reminded and determine whether sustained use is associated with maintained improvements in primary and secondary outcomes; (3) determine whether those in the intervention condition have lower mental health service usage and associated costs compared to those in the control condition; and (4) assess users' perspectives on the quality of the JoyPop™ app.

Methods: A pragmatic, parallel arm randomized controlled trial will be used. Participants will be randomly allocated using stratified block randomization in a 1:1 ratio to the intervention (JoyPop™) or control (no intervention) condition. Participants allocated to the intervention condition will be asked to use the JoyPop™ app at least twice daily for 4 weeks. Participants will complete outcome measures at four assessment time-points (first [baseline], second [after 2 weeks], third [after 4 weeks], fourth [after 8 weeks; follow-up]). Participants in the control condition will be offered access to the app after the fourth assessment time-point.

Discussion: Results will determine the effectiveness of the JoyPop™ app for promoting mental health and wellbeing among post-secondary students. If effective, this may encourage more widespread adoption of the JoyPop™ app by post-secondary institutions as part of their response to student mental health needs.

Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06154369 . Registered on November 23, 2023.

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