Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Sep 7, 2023
Open Peer Review Period: Sep 7, 2023 - Nov 2, 2023
Date Accepted: Jan 2, 2024
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Mental health and well-being in racial/ethnic minorities after using a faith and prayer mobile app, Pray.com: Feasibility and preliminary efficacy trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Technological advances have permitted various ways for individuals to facilitate well-being through engagement in religious and spiritual practice. Such research on the role of technology in religious and spiritual practices is nascent and digitally-based interventions struggle to be representative of racial and ethnic minority groups. Thus, there is a dearth of research including racial and ethnic diverse samples, and less research has focused on how such apps align with the cultural values of such participants.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility (i.e., acceptability, demand, practicality) and preliminary effectiveness of using the mobile app Pray.com on mental health (i.e., stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms) and well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life, spiritual well-being, religious commitment, and racial/ethnic identity development) among REM participants
Methods:
This study was a single group 4-week feasibility trial. Participants were asked to use the Pray.com app at least 5x/week for 5 minutes/day. Participants were contacted approximately 30 days after completing baseline measures and invited to complete the online questionnaires again, as well as a feasibility questionnaire about their experience using the app.
Results:
Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the app, intent to continue use, appropriateness of the app, and that the app fit within their culture. Interestingly, the majority of participants did not meet the app use prescription given by the researchers but expressed interest in using the app in the future and perceived demand for it in their communities. Additionally, participants reported the app was easy to use, and perceived the app to be inexpensive. With regard to preliminary effectiveness, participants reported improved mental health (i.e., stress, depressive, and anxiety symptoms) and spiritual well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life, spiritual well-being, religious commitment, and racial/ethnic identity development) over the course of the study despite relatively low average levels and high variability of using the app. Greater app usage was significantly associated with improvements in mental health and spiritual well-being.
Conclusions:
This is the first study to assess the feasibility of a faith and prayer app for mental health and well-being in a sample of REMs. Our findings suggest that the use of a faith and prayer app (i.e., Pray.com) is feasible and could be significantly impactful for the improvement of mental health symptoms and spiritual well-being in REMs and their communities, especially Black and African Americans. Clinical Trial: NCT05626673
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