ArticlePloS one2020
Short-term effect of a smartphone application on the mental health of university students: A pilot study using a user-centered design self-monitoring application for mental health.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04944277 (Assessing Effectiveness of a Text-based Mental Health Coaching Application in Improving Mental Well-Being Among House Officers, IMU Faculty, IMU Corporate Staff and IMU Students in Malaysia), which is not on this map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Assessing Effectiveness of a Text-based Mental Health Coaching Application in Improving Mental Well-Being Among House Officers, IMU Faculty, IMU Corporate Staff and IMU Students in Malaysia
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of evidence based mental health apps on user health outcome: A systematic literature review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance of Digital Mental Health Interventions for College Students: A Systematic Review.Current psychiatry reports · 2024Pooled it
- Determination of Markers of Successful Implementation of Mental Health Apps for Young People: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- Smartphone dependence and sport participation among Chinese adolescents: chain mediation by self-control and health beliefs and direct-path moderation by interpersonal support.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Co-Designing a Web-Based and Tablet App to Evaluate Clinical Outcomes of Early Psychosis Service Users in a Learning Health Care Network: User-Centered Design Workshop and Pilot Study.JMIR human factors · 2025Article
- Using Active and Passive Smartphone Data to Enhance Adolescents' Emotional Awareness in Forensic Outpatient Setting: A Qualitative Feasibility and Usability Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- A collaborative realist review of remote measurement technologies for depression in young people.Nature human behaviour · 2024Review
- An mHealth Platform for People With HIV Receiving Care in Washington, District of Columbia: Qualitative Analysis of Stakeholder Feedback.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Understanding Mobile Health and Youth Mental Health: Scoping Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2023Article
- Analysis of Mobile App-Based Mental Health Solutions for College Students: A Rapid Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The Impact of Mobile Technology-Delivered Interventions on Youth Well-being: Systematic Review and 3-Level Meta-analysis.JMIR mental health · 2022Review
- Online mental health interventions designed for students in higher education: A user-centered perspective.Internet interventions · 2021Review
- Adapting an m-Health Intervention for Spanish-Speaking Latinx People Living with HIV in the Nonurban Southern United States.Telemedicine reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite the widespread recognition of the importance of mental health in young people, only a small proportion of young people with a mental disorder, including university students, receive mental health care.
objectiveWe developed a smartphone application (Mental App) for the university students and examined the effects of the app on their mental health.
methodsThe app was designed according to a questionnaire survey conducted before this study. The Mental App was installed on the students' smartphone and the psychological tests (the Link Stigma Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire) were performed on the same day. After using the App for two weeks, the students completed a questionnaire survey and underwent the same psychological tests. We compared the results between the app user and non-user group.
resultsA total of 68 students participated, of which 57 students completed the study (app user group, n = 28; control group, n = 29). The mean number of days spent using the app was 5.66 ± 3.16 (mean ± SD). The mean total screen time of the app was 9:03 ± 06:41(min:sec). The mean number of total actions (screen taps or swipes) was 161.91 ± 107.34. There were no significant between-group differences in the ΔLink Stigma Scale score (-0.11 ± 4.28 vs. -0.59 ± 3.30, p = 0.496) or the ΔCenter for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale score (-4.39 ± 7.13 vs. -2.07 ± 8.78, p = 0.143). There was a significant between-group difference in the ΔGeneral Health Questionnaire score (-2.21± 2.23 vs. -0.17 ± 2.69, p = 0.007).
conclusionsThis non-randomized controlled pilot study indicates that the app we developed, may provide effective mental health care for university students, even in the short-term. Trial registration: UMIN000040332.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.