An Eight-Week, Web-Based Mindfulness Virtual Community Intervention for Students’ Mental Health: Randomized Controlled Trial

Ahmad, Farah; Morr, Christo El; Ritvo, Paul; Othman, Nasih; Moineddin, Rahim; Team, Mvc

doi:10.2196/15520

Cited by 72 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…The mean depression scores of participants declined from the high end of mild depression to the low end. The intervention had no effect on stress levels (PSS), although a previous pilot MVC study showed significant reductions in stress levels in a similar population [ 29 ]. One reason for the absent effect could be higher baseline stress scores for this sample than in the pilot study (eg, 20.6 vs 19.2), which was possibly a consequence of several months of a strike that our sample experienced prior to start of Fall 2018.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The topics of the 12 modules and the video duration (average durations of male voice and female voice videos) are presented in Table 1 . The role played by the online mindfulness moderator evolved over time across a pilot study conducted in Winter 2017 [ 29 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent systematic review showed the impact of online mindfulness interventions on depression, anxiety, and stress [ 25 ]; however, there is no clear indication as to which specific intervention components were specifically effective. Moreover, in the electronic health (eHealth) domain, virtual communities (VCs) [ 26 ], that is, online communities, have been used in health care to provide e-education tools and online support with the goal of empowering active participants in health enhancement [ 27 - 29 ]. VCs can scale up mindfulness interventions at lower costs to wider ranges of students, especially those restricted from attending clinics due to time–place discontinuities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The MVC contained analytics to measure the use of each included component. Following a successful pilot RCT [ 29 ], we wanted to further investigate whether symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress would be significantly reduced when compared with waitlist controls (WLCs).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effectiveness of an 8-Week Web-Based Mindfulness Virtual Community Intervention for University Students on Symptoms of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial

Morr¹,

Ritvo²,

Ahmad³

et al. 2020

JMIR Ment Health

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101

103

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Background A student mental health crisis is increasingly acknowledged and will only intensify with the COVID-19 crisis. Given accessibility of methods with demonstrated efficacy in reducing depression and anxiety (eg, mindfulness meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT]) and limitations imposed by geographic obstructions and localized expertise, web-based alternatives have become vehicles for scaled-up delivery of benefits at modest cost. Mindfulness Virtual Community (MVC), a web-based program informed by CBT constructs and featuring online videos, discussion forums, and videoconferencing, was developed to target depression, anxiety, and experiences of excess stress among university students. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an 8-week web-based mindfulness and CBT program in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress (primary outcomes) and increasing mindfulness (secondary outcome) within a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with undergraduate students at a large Canadian university. Methods An RCT was designed to assess undergraduate students (n=160) who were randomly allocated to a web-based guided mindfulness–CBT condition (n=80) or to a waitlist control (WLC) condition (n=80). The 8-week intervention consisted of a web-based platform comprising (1) 12 video-based modules with psychoeducation on students’ preidentified life challenges and applied mindfulness practice; (2) anonymous peer-to-peer discussion forums; and (3) anonymous, group-based, professionally guided 20-minute live videoconferences. The outcomes (depression, anxiety, stress, and mindfulness) were measured via an online survey at baseline and at 8 weeks postintervention using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ9), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire Short Form (FFMQ-SF). Analyses employed generalized estimation equation methods with AR(1) covariance structures and were adjusted for possible covariates (gender, age, country of birth, ethnicity, English as first language, paid work, unpaid work, relationship status, physical exercise, self-rated health, and access to private mental health counseling). Results Of the 159 students who provided T1 data, 32 were males and 125 were females with a mean age of 22.55 years. Participants in the MVC (n=79) and WLC (n=80) groups were similar in sociodemographic characteristics at T1 with the exception of gender and weekly hours of unpaid volunteer work. At postintervention follow-up, according to the adjusted comparisons, there were statistically significant between-group reductions in depression scores (β=–2.21, P=.01) and anxiety scores (β=–4.82, P=.006), and a significant increase in mindfulness scores (β=4.84, P=.02) compared with the WLC group. There were no statistically significant differences in perceived stress for MVC (β=.64, P=.48) compared with WLC. Conclusions With the MVC intervention, there were significantly reduced depression and anxiety symptoms but no significant effect on perceived stress. Online mindfulness interventions can be effective in addressing common mental health conditions among postsecondary populations on a large scale, simultaneously reducing the current burden on traditional counseling services. Trial Registration ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN12249616; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN12249616

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effectiveness of an 8-Week Web-Based Mindfulness Virtual Community Intervention for University Students on Symptoms of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial

Morr¹,

Ritvo²,

Ahmad³

et al. 2020

JMIR Ment Health

Self Cite

101

103

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show abstract

“…Moreover, the use of the internet , mobile phones, and smartphones [36,[38][39][40][41][42][43] for health purposes has been well documented in research. It has been used to address chronic disease management [44,45], mental health challenges [46,47], and hospital readmissions [48], encompassing applications that target the public (i.e., public health informatics), interactions between patients and healthcare professionals, and applications for individual use through smartphone apps (i.e., consumer health informatics). However, little is known about the use of ICTs in the context of violence against women, and only a few articles on the subject have been published recently [43,49,50].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of ICT-based intimate partner violence interventions: a systematic review

Morr

Layal

2020

BMC Public Health

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Background Intimate Partner Violence is a “global pandemic”. Meanwhile, information and communication technologies (ICT), such as the internet, mobile phones, and smartphones, are spreading worldwide, including in low- and middle-income countries. We reviewed the available evidence on the use of ICT-based interventions to address intimate partner violence (IPV), evaluating the effectiveness, acceptability, and suitability of ICT for addressing different aspects of the problem (e.g., awareness, screening, prevention, treatment, mental health). Methods We conducted a systematic review, following PRISMA guidelines, using the following databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Key search terms included women, violence, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, information, communication technology, ICT, technology, email, mobile, phone, digital, ehealth, web, computer, online, and computerized. Only articles written in English were included. Results Twenty-five studies addressing screening and disclosure, IPV prevention, ICT suitability, support and women’s mental health were identified. The evidence reviewed suggests that ICT-based interventions were effective mainly in screening, disclosure, and prevention. However, there is a lack of homogeneity among the studies’ outcome measurements and the sample sizes, the control groups used (if any), the type of interventions, and the study recruitment space. Questions addressing safety, equity, and the unintended consequences of the use of ICT in IPV programming are virtually non-existent. Conclusions There is a clear need to develop women-centered ICT design when programming for IPV. Our study showed only one study that formally addressed software usability. The need for more research to address safety, equity, and the unintended consequences of the use of ICT in IPV programming is paramount. Studies addressing long term effects are also needed.

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Behavioural interventions delivered through interactive social media for health behaviour change, health outcomes, and health equity in the adult population

Petkovic

Duench

Trawin

et al. 2021

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

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An Eight-Week, Web-Based Mindfulness Virtual Community Intervention for Students’ Mental Health: Randomized Controlled Trial

Cited by 72 publications

References 62 publications

Effectiveness of an 8-Week Web-Based Mindfulness Virtual Community Intervention for University Students on Symptoms of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial

Effectiveness of an 8-Week Web-Based Mindfulness Virtual Community Intervention for University Students on Symptoms of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial

Effectiveness of ICT-based intimate partner violence interventions: a systematic review

Behavioural interventions delivered through interactive social media for health behaviour change, health outcomes, and health equity in the adult population

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