SynthesisPeerJ2022
Effectiveness of digital mental health interventions for university students: an umbrella review.
Synthesis in PeerJ, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06773468 (Evaluating Knowledge Mobilization for Stress Management in University Students), which is not on this map. Cited by 36 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Evaluating Knowledge Mobilization for Stress Management in University Students
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mental health in university students: an umbrella review grading the evidence for psychosocial interventions.BMJ mental health · 2026Pooled it
- Digital Mental Health Interventions for University Students With Mental Health Difficulties: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Early intervention in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Stress management interventions for university students in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Pooled it
- Moderated Online Social Therapy (MOST) in Help-Seeking Young People: Pilot Randomized Controlled Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness and uptake of ROOM to grow: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.Internet interventions · 2026Article
- Gentle Mind-A Podcast on Self-Compassion and Character Strengths to Enhance Well-Being in University Students: A Controlled Feasibility Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mental Health Screening Before and After the 2020 COVID-19 Closures of US College Campuses: A Cross-Sectional Comparison Using Natural Language Processing.Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974) · 2026Article
- Students' Perspectives on Digital Psychotherapy-Possible Solutions for Digital Inpatient-Like Care Concepts: Qualitative Interview Study.JMIR medical education · 2026Article
- The conflict between need and fear: how privacy concerns moderate the influence of depression on university students' acceptance of AI music therapy.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Technology for Mental Health: Reflections on Scope and Future Directions in Institutes of Higher Education in India.Online journal of public health informatics · 2025Article
- Designing Culturally Adapted Digital Mental Health Support Tool for Chinese-Speaking International Students in Australia: A Qualitative Co-design Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Article
- How do we know that they actually use it? Exploring measures of adherence to stress management strategies in university students: A systematic review.Internet interventions · 2025Review
- Effectiveness of Digital interventions on Mental Health and Psychological Well-being of College and University students.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2025Review
- Effectiveness of a Self-Guided Digital Intervention for Mental Health and Psychological Well-Being in University Students: Pre- and Postintervention Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Digital public health interventions for the promotion of mental well-being and health behaviors among university students: a rapid review.BMC public health · 2025Review
- Toward a New Conceptual Framework for Digital Mental Health Technologies: Scoping Review.JMIR mental health · 2025Article
- Clustering the Depression Prevalence in Indonesia Provinces through Natural Breaks Jenks Method.Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH · 2025Article
- Article
- Relationships among anxiety, psychological resilience, and physical activity in university students: variable-centred and person-centred perspectives.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Poor mental health among university students remains a pressing public health issue. Over the past few years, digital health interventions have been developed and considered promising in increasing psychological wellbeing among university students. Therefore, this umbrella review aims to synthesize evidence on digital health interventions targeting university students and to evaluate their effectiveness. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed in April 2021 searching PubMed, Psychology and Behavioural Science Collection, Web of Science, ERIC, and Scopus for systematic reviews and meta-analyses on digital mental health interventions targeting university students. The review protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews PROSPERO [CRD42021234773]. Results: The initital literature search resulted in 806 records of which seven remained after duplicates were removed and evaluated against the inclusion criteria. Effectiveness was reported and categorized into the following six delivery types: (a) web-based, online/computer-delivered interventions (b) computer-based Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), (c) mobile applications and short message service (d) virtual reality interventions (e) skills training (f) relaxation and exposure-based therapy. Results indicated web-based online/computer delivered-interventions were effective or at least partially effective at decressing depression, anxiety, stress and eating disorder symptoms. This was similar for skills-training interventions, CBT-based intervention and mobile applications. However, digital mental health interventions using virtual reality and relaxation, exposure-based therapy was inconclusive. Due to the variation in study settings and inconsistencies in reporting, effectiveness was greatly dependent on the delivery format, targeted mental health problem and targeted purpose group. Conclusion: The findings provide evidence for the beneficial effect of digital mental health interventions for university students. However, this review calls for a more systematic approach in testing and reporting the effectiveness of digital mental health interventions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.