Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jan 19, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Feb 4, 2025 - Apr 1, 2025
Date Accepted: Jun 30, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
Effectiveness, Usability and Satisfaction of a Self-Administered Digital Intervention for Reducing Depression, Anxiety and Stress in a University Community in the Andean Region of Peru: A Randomized Clinical Trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Evidence on digital interventions in mental health has been increasing since the last years. However, available evidence is still heterogenous and limited regarding the use of self-administered platforms in the context of university education.
Objective:
We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a self-administered digital mental health service in members of a public university to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and perceived stress.
Methods:
A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted. Students, teachers, and administrative staff from a public university in Peru were included. Compared to the control group (CG), the intervention group (IG) had access to a self-administered digital mental health service comprised of 6 modules with audiovisual material. Multivariate ANCOVA models and effect size indicators (Cohen's d) were used to compare the reduction of anxiety (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), and perceived stress (PSS-10) between both groups.
Results:
55 participants participated in the IG and 30 in the CG. Age, sex, and baseline mental health characteristics were balanced. The IG had lower values of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress compared to the CG, as evidenced by the multivariate models and effect measures (p<0.05). The IG reported a high level of subjective commitment but a low level of satisfaction and usability regarding the digital service received.
Conclusions:
Digital service for mental health self-care is effective in reducing mental health problems in members of a public university. However, its design should be optimized to improve its usability and satisfaction. Clinical Trial: The clinical trial protocol was registered on the OSF platform (https://osf.io/m4epv/).
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.