JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Delivery of interventions within student mental health services has undergone a considerable digital transformation in recent years. Traditional face-to-face meetings are being substituted with autonomous digital tools with evident advantages in terms of for instance accessibility, scalability, and management of resources. Despite an increasing array of digital options, there is also a growing recognition that digital tools offer limited effectiveness without some degree of human support. For example, in relation to mental well-being, completely digitally delivered interventions shows approximately half the effect sizes compared to interventions delivered in traditional format. Blended forms of delivery which utilizes both digital advantages and recognized effects of human contact are therefore promising. Hitherto, the effects of blended delivery have not been evaluated in relation to mental well-being. Hence, investigating how digitalization in intervention delivery impacts the effects of interventions on mental well-being is of crucial importance. This is especially of relevance among emerging adults enrolled in higher education going through a critical transformative life phase.

Objective:

This systematic review and meta-analysis will primarily aim to investigate differences in effect due to degree of digitalization in mode of delivery of interventions on mental well-being among higher education students.

Methods:

This work will adhere to the Cochrane Collaboration guidelines for systematic reviews of interventions methodology. Results will be reported according to PRISMA guidelines. Initially, a systematic literature search will be conducted by employing a developed search strategy across nine databases (Scopus, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, ERIC, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane, and trialsearch.who.int). Studies will then be independently screened based on pre-specified inclusion criteria. The PICO framework as defined by the main research questions will inform both the search strategy and the inclusion criteria. Screened studies will then be reviewed in full-text and data will be extracted to be used in a following risk of bias assessment as well as data meta-analysis (if applicable) and narrative synthesis. The inverse-variance method will be applied for generating pooled effect estimates of different levels of digitalization in intervention delivery. Publication bias will be analyzed by funnel-plot asymmetry assessment and sensitivity subgroup analyses will also be conducted.

Results:

The systematic review search, study selection process, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, data analysis, and narrative synthesis will be conducted during the first quarter of 2026. The final manuscript will be submitted for peer-review in June 2026.

Conclusions:

This systematic review will be of particular interest for managements of student mental health services when considering and implementing promotive initiatives. It will primarily provide knowledge about how different modes of delivery of interventions impacts the effect of interventions on mental well-being. The research will also highlight challenges, limitations, or obstacles in need of future attention within the field of study. Clinical Trial: PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews: 2025 CRD420251131950