Efficacy of the My Coping Plan mobile application in reducing distress: A randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Mental health apps have the potential to decrease the burden of disease associated with mental illness. However, few apps have been evaluated for effectiveness.

Digital Interventions for Screening and Treating Common Mental Disorders or Symptoms of Common Mental Illness in Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…Overall, the included studies covered 6223 participants in intervention conditions and 5797 participants in comparison conditions. Nearly half of the studies (8/19, 42%) including a cost-effectiveness study[ 37 - 39 , 44 - 46 , 49 , 52 ] were conducted in Australia. Four (4/19, 21%) studies were conducted in the United States [ 5 , 40 , 42 , 48 ].…”

“…Studies recruited adults with subclinical or mild symptoms of CMDs among the general population in the community through social media (Facebook and Twitter) advertisements [ 5 , 37 , 38 ]. Nearly half of the studies aimed at promoting positive well-being and targeted users with some indication of clinical symptoms, including university students [ 42 , 44 - 46 , 48 , 49 ] and the general public who were interested in self-care to promote well-being [ 5 , 38 , 39 , 43 , 47 , 54 ]. The remaining studies targeted populations with an increased risk of mental health morbidities either because of work-related stress or health conditions.…”

“…Most were delivered through a web-based portal allowing users to access it through any device with a web browser [ 37 - 39 , 44 , 49 , 50 , 53 , 54 ]. Some were specifically developed and trialed as mobile apps [ 5 , 43 , 46 , 47 ]. There was 1 fully AI chat box [ 48 ].…”

“…All included trials tested digital self-care interventions, often incorporating psychoeducation [ 39 , 40 , 53 ] and various other psychological intervention modalities. The most commonly employed intervention strategies included mindfulness [ 5 , 43 , 47 , 50 , 54 ], compassion, CBT [ 5 , 47 , 50 ], acceptance and commitment therapy [ 44 , 45 ], motivational interviewing [ 48 ], and positive psychology mobilizing the individual’s strengths [ 46 , 48 ]. Five interventions included an interactive forum where users can exchange discussions with one another [ 5 , 38 , 39 , 43 , 46 ].…”

Reducing distress in university students: A randomised control trial of two online interventions

“…The self‐care module covers healthy behaviours—sleep, nutrition, physical activity—belonging, and coping. During the program, participants are encouraged to download the My Coping Plan app (Stallman, ) and use it as a prompt them to use healthy coping strategies whenever they feel stressed or distressed. The modules are completed sequentially with a knowledge quiz or activity at the end of each module that participants must achieve a grade of 80% on before they are able to progress to the next module.…”