JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Depression and anxiety are common mental health conditions in college/ university student populations. Offering transdiagnostic, web-based prevention programs, such as ICare Prevent, to those with subclinical complaints has the potential to reduce some barriers to receiving help, e.g., availability of services, privacy considerations, and students’ desire for autonomy. Accounts of recruitment challenges are needed to complement available effectiveness research in student populations.

Objective:

The aims of the current study are to describe recruitment challenges together with effective recruitment strategies for ICare Prevent, and to provide basic information on the intervention’s effectiveness.

Methods:

A three-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in a student sample with subclinical symptoms of depression and anxiety on the effectiveness of a guided and unguided version of ICare Prevent, a web-based intervention with transdiagnostic components for the indicated prevention of depression and anxiety compared to care-as-usual (CAU). Descriptive statistics are used to outline recruitment challenges and effective online and offline strategies, as well as students’ use of the intervention. A basic analysis of intervention effects was conducted using a Bayesian linear mixed model.

Results:

Direct recruitment through students’ email addresses via the central student administration was the most effective channel. Data of 35 participants were analyzed (guided= 14, unguided= 8, CAU= 13). Use of the intervention was low, with an average of three out of seven sessions completed. Analyses did not suggest any intervention effects other than anecdotal evidence (all BF10≤ 2.7).

Conclusions:

This report adds to the existing literature on recruitment challenges specific to the student population. Testing the feasibility of recruitment measures and greater involvement of the target population in their design, as well as shifting from direct towards indirect prevention can potentially help future studies in the field. In addition, it demonstrates an alternative basic analytical strategy for underpowered RCTs. Clinical Trial: The trial has been registered at the Dutch trial register (Nederlands Trial Register, NTR6562).