Efficacy of a Text-Based Mental Health Coaching App in Improving the Symptoms of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Stress, anxiety and depression are major mental health concerns worldwide. A wide variety of digital mental health interventions have demonstrated efficacy in improving one’s mental health status, and digital interventions that involve some forms of human involvement have been shown to demonstrate greater efficacy than self-guided digital interventions. Studies demonstrating the efficacy of digital mental health interventions within the Asian region are scarce. OBJECTIVE The current study aimed to investigate the potential efficacy of an asynchronous text-based digital mental health mobile application, ThoughtFullChat, in improving self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. The study also aimed to look at potential differences in efficacy between occupational subgroups and gender. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among housemen (trainee medical doctors), students, faculty members and corporate staff at International Medical University (IMU), Malaysia. 392 participants were enrolled and randomised to the intervention and control groups. Depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms were measured using the DASS-21 scale at baseline and after a 3-month intervention period. Other measures of life satisfaction and resilience were also included, along with a questionnaire on demographics. RESULTS A significant decrease was observed in depression (P=.015) and anxiety (P=.002) scores in the intervention group. One subgroup (corporate staff) also demonstrated a significant decrease in stress scores (P =.005) alongside depression (P=.006) and anxiety (P=.002). In our subgroup analysis, the corporate staff showed significantly greater improvements in depression, anxiety, and stress scores. Females showed significant improvements in depression (P=.024) and anxiety (P<.001) when compared to males. CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence that the ThoughtFullChat application is effective in improving symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress in individuals, particularly among corporate staff. Mobile mental health applications that connect users to mental health professionals in a discreet and cost-efficient manner can make important contributions to the improvement of mental health outcomes. CLINICALTRIAL The study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov (ID: NCT04944277).

Associations between perceived occupational stressors and symptoms severity of depression, anxiety and stress among academic faculty: First cross-sectional study from Qatar

“…topic are ultimately needed. For example, Recently, Lim and Colleagues[50] found that DASS-21 scores showed an improvement in faculty after mental health training interventions and professional support. Likewise, a Spanish study found that multiple mental and physical approaches improved self-perceived stress among academics[51].…”