ArticleBMJ open2024
Is a smartphone application (BlueIce) acceptable and safe for university students who self-harm: an open study.
Article in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Personalization variables in digital mental health interventions for depression and anxiety in adolescents and youth: a scoping review.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Pooled it
- Adolescents' and youths' perceived barriers and facilitators to engaging with digital mental health interventions for depression and anxiety: A scoping review.Internet interventions · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMany university students self-harm but few receive support. Smartphone apps have been identified as acceptable sources of support for students who self-harm, but the use of supportive self-harm apps is yet to be explored in this population.
objectiveThis study sought to explore the acceptability and safety of a specific app (BlueIce) for university students who self-harm.
methodsThis was an exploratory, mixed methods study with 15 university students attending university well-being services with self-harming thoughts and/or behaviours. BlueIce was offered alongside the face-to-face support provided by the well-being service. Self-harming thoughts and behaviours, coping self-efficacy, and symptoms of anxiety and depression were measured before and after using BlueIce for 6 weeks. Follow-up interviews were also undertaken to explore how students perceived BlueIce in more depth.
resultsFollowing app use, there were statistically significant reductions in symptoms of anxiety (baseline M 12.47, SD 4.42; follow-up M 10, SD 4.16) t(14)=2.26, p=0.040, d=0.58 and depression (baseline M 16.5, SD 5.17, follow-up M 12.27, SD 3.66) t(13)=5.50, p<0.001, d=1.47. Qualitative findings showed participants found BlueIce to be acceptable, safe and helpful, and reported that they were more able to cope with difficult feelings and better understand their self-harm triggers following use of the app.
conclusionBlueIce was an acceptable, safe and helpful source of support for university students struggling with self-harm thoughts and/or behaviours. This builds on previous findings with adolescents and suggests that BlueIce could be a particularly acceptable and helpful resource for university students.
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