Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jul 21, 2022
Date Accepted: Jan 24, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Acceptability and feasibility of ‘Village’, a digital communication application for young people experiencing low mood, self-harm and suicidal ideation to obtain support from family and friends: Mixed methods pilot open trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Young people experiencing low mood, self-harm and suicidal ideation often struggle to communicate their emotions and receive timely support from family and friends. Technologically-delivered support interventions may be useful for addressing this need.
Objective:
This paper reports on the acceptability and feasibility of ‘Village’, a communication application (app) co-designed with New Zealand young people, family and friends.
Methods:
A mixed methods study design was adopted. Primary outcomes were acceptability of the app (via thematically analyzed qualitative feedback and retention rates) and feasibility of conducting a larger randomized controlled trial (RCT) gauged via effectiveness of recruitment methods, completion of chosen outcome measures and occurrence of unanticipated operational issues. Secondary outcomes were app usability, safety and changes in symptoms of depression (via the Patient Health Questionnaire – Adolescent Version (PHQ-A), suicidal ideation (on the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ) and functioning (using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 or Child and Youth version (WHODAS 2.0/WHODAS-CY).
Results:
Participants were primarily recruited via social media advertisements and clinicians in specialist mental health services over an 8-month period. Twenty-six young people (‘users’) were enrolled in the trial, of which 21 recruited friends and family members (‘buddies’) and completed quantitative outcome measures at baseline, 4 weeks and 3 months. Thirteen users and twelve buddies also provided qualitative feedback about the app, identifying key themes of (i) appeal of app features and layout; (ii) usefulness of its content; and (iii) technological challenges (primarily with onboarding and notifications). Users gave Village a mean rating of 3.8 out of 5 (range 2.7-4.6) on a 5-point scale for app quality and an overall star rating of 3.4 out of 5 for subjective quality. Within this limited sample, users reported a clinically significant reduction in depressive symptoms (P 0.007), but non-significant changes in suicidal ideation and functioning. Embedded risk detection software was activated on three occasions and no additional support was required for users.
Conclusions:
During this open trial, Village was found to be acceptable, usable and safe. Feasibility of a larger RCT was also confirmed following some modifications to the recruitment strategy and app. Clinical Trial: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Network Registry ACTRN12620000241932p
Citation
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Copyright
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