Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Apr 8, 2019
Date Accepted: Mar 23, 2020
A cluster randomized control trial of ReZone: Helping young people to self-manage when feeling overwhelmed
ABSTRACT
Background:
Mental health difficulties in young people are increasing and there is a need for evidence as to the effectiveness of digital interventions to increase opportunities for supporting mental health in young people. Such studies are complex due to issues of implementation and adoption, outcome measures and appropriate study designs.
Objective:
To examine the effectiveness of an mHealth intervention (ReZone) in reducing mental health difficulties in young people.
Methods:
A cluster-randomized control trial of N = 409 participants aged between 10–15 were recruited and classes were allocated to ReZone or management as usual. Self-completion questionnaires were completed at baseline and 3-month follow-up.
Results:
There were no significant differences between the ReZone condition and management as usual condition in the self-report outcome measures. However, there were 3,467 usage sessions, which corresponds to 16.9 times per each of the 205 students in classes allocated to ReZone.
Conclusions:
It is important to publish studies that do not show significant differences as these findings can still make a contribution to the literature, learning and inform future direction of work. The results reported in this paper could be due to a range of reasons, including whether ReZone has the scope to impact change or limitations related to the setting and population and appropriateness of an RCT. The findings of the present study do suggest that ReZone was implemented and adopted.
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