Evaluating the Impact of a Digital Psychosocial Tool (Wysa) on Life Skills and Well-being of College Students in India

NCT06801093 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 390706
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 152
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this study is to learn the feasibility of a digital psychosocial tool (Wysa) in improving life skills and overall wellbeing of English-speaking college students in IIT-Gandhinagar, a university in India. This will be conducted using pre-post assessments examining resilience, self-efficacy, problem solving, and wellbeing as well as examining app usage during the intervention period. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. 1.The feasibility and acceptability of Wysa amongst college students enrolled at the university
2. 2.The effectiveness of Wysa in improving the life skills and well-being of college students enrolled at the university

Conditions

Wellbeing; Resilience; Self Efficacy; Life Skills; Problem Solving

Keywords

digital psychosocial tool; wellbeing; life skills; college student; digital intervention; feasibility study

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Feasibility - Recruitment rate

  Proportion of participants who completed consent procedures

  Measured during the recruitment period (1 month, or if recruitment is extended at the end of 2 months)

• Feasibility - Retention rate

  Proportion of recruited participants who completed endline assessments and follow-up assessments i.e. those who remained enrolled for the study duration.

  Measured after the 2 month intervention during follow-up assessments

• Feasibility - App onboarding rate

  Proportion of participants who downloaded the app after allocation to the intervention

  Measured during the 2 month intervention period

• Acceptability - Wysa app engagement

  Proportion of recruited participants who interacted with Wysa at least once after onboarding to the app. Information will also collected on average numbers of days the app was used. Analysis of usage of different app features and tools will also be conducted.

  Measured during the 2-month intervention period

• App satisfation

  Feedback is collected through questions which ask participants to provide a quantitative rating of the app features' usability and satisfaction. Participants can provide ratings on a 5 point likert scale with higher ratings denoting higher satisfaction. 1 qualitative question invites participant to use free text format to provide any additional feedback.

  This is collected thrice during the 2-month intervention period

• App Acceptability and experiences of usage

  Semi-structured interviews with a sub-sample of participants will provide insights into the lived experience of using the intervention; and barriers and facilitators to usage.

  Conducted after the intervention period (2 months)

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Changes in wellbeing as measured on the WHO Wellbeing Index

  3 months: at Month 0 (pre-intervention), Month 2 (post-intervention period), Month 3 (1-month after intervention period)

• Changes in problem solving as measured on the Problem Solving Inventory

  3 months: at Month 0 (pre-intervention), Month 2 (post-intervention period), Month 3 (1-month after intervention period)

• Changes in self-efficacy as measured on the general self-efficacy scale

  3 months: at Month 0 (pre-intervention), Month 2 (post-intervention period), Month 3 (1-month after intervention period)

• Changes in resilience, as measured on the Brief Resilience Scale

  3 months: at Month 0 (pre-intervention), Month 2 (post-intervention period), Month 3 (1-month after intervention period)

Study Arms (1)

Wysa app

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive the digital psychosocial tool (Wysa) for a period of 2 months. Wysa is a digital app that includes an AI-based conversational conversational agent, a repository of self-help tools, and SOS resources.

Behavioral: Digital psychosocial tool

Interventions

Digital psychosocial tool BEHAVIORAL

Wysa is a digital psychosocial tool that provides AI conversational chatbot support. The conversational agent acts as a companion, and understands, empathizes, and guides users through exercises grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and motivational intervention. Participants can progressively work through learning different skills and practice them in their daily life. The app also provides a repository of tools to manage problems and SOS resources for high distress.

Wysa app

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Are between 18-25 years of age
• Are a student of Idian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IIT Gandhinagar)
• Are able to read and understand English
• Have access to an internet enabled smartphone

You may not qualify if:

• Have previously used Wysa app (the intervention)
• Presence of self-harm/suicidal risk

Sponsors & Collaborators

• London School of Economics and Political Science: lead
• Wysa: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IIT-Gandhinagar)

Palaj, Gujarat, 382355, India

Location

Study Officials

• Sarah Jasim, Ph.D

  London School of Economics and Political Science

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Research Fellow

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 17, 2025
• First Posted: January 30, 2025
• Study Start: January 30, 2025
• Primary Completion: June 4, 2025
• Study Completion: June 4, 2025
• Last Updated: June 25, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

IN (1)