Mental Health Mobile Apps for Adults

NCT06099301 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: HE-HMRF2023/09
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 234
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

In Hong Kong, the shortage of mental health professionals has been a public health concern for many decades. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends self-care intervention as one of the most promising and exciting new approaches to improve health and well-being. Rapid development in digital technologies is making population-based self-care interventions possible. The goal of this pilot randomised controlled trial is to provide brief advice of a list of mental health mobile apps for reducing depressive symptoms and anxiety in adults. Participants will be instructed to use four mobile apps for 10 min each day for 30 days. They have freedom to choose which one app to use, or a mix of two or three apps. The Waitlist control group will not receive treatment from the research team during the assessment period. But they will be notified their evaluation results (mild to moderate depression) after they complete the baseline assessment. They will receive the information about mental health hotline services for general public. The hypothesis is that the interventions show preliminary effectiveness in reducing adults' depressive and/or anxiety symptoms.

Conditions

Depressive Symptoms; Anxiety; Well-Being, Psychological

Keywords

Apps; Depressive Symptoms; Anxiety; Mental Health; Coping Self-efficacy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Changes in depressive symptoms

  The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 will be used to measure depressive symptoms. Participants rate the frequency of nine symptoms over the past two weeks on a 4-point Likert scale (from 0=not at all to 3=nearly every day). The total score ranges from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating a greater severity of depressive symptoms.

  T1: baseline; T2: immediate post-intervention (1-month after baseline); T3: 3-month after the intervention

• Changes in anxiety symptoms

  The Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7 will be used to measure anxiety symptoms. Participants rate the frequency of seven symptoms over the past two weeks on a 4-point Likert scale (from 0=not at all to 3=nearly every day). The total score ranges from 0 to 21, with a higher score indicating a higher level of anxiety.

  T1: baseline; T2: immediate post-intervention (1-month after baseline); T3: 3-month after the intervention

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Changes in well-being

  T1: baseline; T2: immediate post-intervention (1-month after baseline); T3: 3-month after the intervention

• Changes in coping self-efficacy (CSE)

  T1: baseline; T2: immediate post-intervention (1-month after baseline); T3: 3-month after the intervention

• Changes in psychological stress

  T1: baseline; T2: immediate post-intervention (1-month after baseline); T3: 3-month after the intervention

Other Outcomes (2)

• Utility assessment during application use

  T2: immediate post-intervention (1-month after baseline); T3: 3-month after the intervention

• The overall satisfaction with the program and subjective changes

  After completing all quantitative outcome assessments (3-month after the intervention)

Study Arms (2)

Waitlist control (WC)

NO INTERVENTION

The WC group will not receive treatment from the research team during the assessment period. But they will be notified their evaluation results (mild to moderate depression) after they complete the baseline assessment. They will receive the information about mental health hotline services for general public (e.g. Social Welfare Department: 2343 2255; Caritas Family Crisis Support Centre: 18288; Joyful Mental Health Foundation: 2301 2303). The intervention group will receive the hotline information as well. If they want to consult a family doctor, information about the primary care provider/directory for mental health care and counselling services will be provided in their preferred district. Their treatment or help-seeking of the formal mental health services will not be intervened. The mobile app list will be provided to the WC group after the assessment period. The instruction session will be delivered to the WC group and provide necessary assistance.

Brief advice of a list of mobile apps

EXPERIMENTAL

In the instruction session, the participants will be introduced with the concept of self-care, a list of four mobile apps with high quality and suitability, and the main functions of these apps. Participants will be instructed to use at least one of the apps for 10 min each day for 30 days. They have freedom to choose which one app to use, or a mix of two or three apps. For each app they choose, they will create user accounts by themselves but be reminded to protect privacy. Two reminders will be sent to the participants at the 2nd and 3rd week. The message will include reminders to use the suggested mobile apps, self-care concept, and tips of using the provided apps. If they have not accessed to any of the mobile apps, the project coordinator will discuss the reasons and work together with the participants to overcome the problems.

Behavioral: Brief advice of a list of mobile apps

Interventions

Brief advice of a list of mobile apps BEHAVIORAL

The mobile apps in the list should: (1) focus primarily on anxiety/depression/stress, (2) be available for free download; (3) be available in English or Chinese; and (4) have a user star rating in the app store.

Also known as: mobile apps

Brief advice of a list of mobile apps

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Adults aged 18 years or above
• Have mild to moderate depression (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) - 9, score 5-14) and/or anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) - 7, score 5-14)
• Hong Kong residents who can communicate in Chinese (Cantonese)
• Own a smart phone

You may not qualify if:

• Physically or mentally unable to communicate
• Currently taking antidepressant or anxiolytic medication or receiving active psychotherapy in the past 3 months

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hong Kong Metropolitan University: lead
• Health and Medical Research Fund: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Hong Kong, 000000, Hong Kong

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depression; Anxiety Disorders; Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Mental Disorders; Personal Satisfaction

Study Officials

• Yuying Sun, PhD

  Hong Kong Metropolitan University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 16, 2023
• First Posted: October 25, 2023
• Study Start: August 1, 2023
• Primary Completion: August 26, 2024
• Study Completion: October 31, 2024
• Last Updated: April 1, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-03

Locations

HK (1)