ArticleJMIR formative research2023
Efficacy of a Text-Based Mental Health Coaching App in Improving the Symptoms of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Article in JMIR formative research, 2023. 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 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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
5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Digital resilience interventions for healthcare workers: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Mental health interventions affecting university faculty: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- A two-armed pragmatic randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of two self-compassion interventions at reducing perceived stress.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Trial
- Article
- Associations between perceived occupational stressors and symptoms severity of depression, anxiety and stress among academic faculty: First cross-sectional study from Qatar.BMC psychology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStress, 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 form 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.
objectiveThis study aimed to investigate the potential efficacy of the digital mental health intervention, ThoughtFullChat, which consists of one-on-one, asynchronous, text-based coaching with certified mental health professionals and self-guided tools, in improving self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. The study also aims to examine the potential differences in efficacy among occupational subgroups and between sexes.
methodsA randomized controlled study was conducted among housemen (trainee physicians), students, faculty members, and corporate staff at International Medical University, Malaysia. A total of 392 participants were enrolled and randomized to the intervention (n=197, 50.3%) and control (n=195, 49.7%) groups. Depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms were measured using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 items at baseline and after the 3-month intervention period. The Satisfaction with Life Scale and Brief Resilience Scale were also included, along with a questionnaire about demographics.
resultsSignificant decrease was observed in depression (P=.02) and anxiety (P=.002) scores in the intervention group. A subgroup (corporate staff) also demonstrated significant decrease in stress (P=.005) alongside depression (P=.006) and anxiety (P=.002). Females showed significant improvements in depression (P=.02) and anxiety (P<.001) when compared with males.
conclusionsThis study provides evidence that the ThoughtFullChat app is effective in improving the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress in individuals, particularly among corporate staff from the educational field. It also supports the notion that mobile mental health apps 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. The differential improvements among occupational subgroups and between sexes in this study indicate the need for future digital mental health app designs to consider an element of personalization focused on systemic components relating to occupation.
trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT04944277; https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04944277.
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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.