Development of a Peer Support Mobile App and Web-Based Lesson for Adolescent Mental Health (Mind Your Mate): User-Centered Design Approach

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Background

Digital technologies and mobile interventions are possible tools for prevention initiatives to target the substantial social and economic impacts that anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders have on young people.

Objective

This paper described the design and development of the Mind your Mate program, a smartphone app and introductory classroom lesson enhancing peer support around the topics of anxiety, depression, and substance use for adolescents.

Methods

The development of Mind your Mate was an iterative process conducted in collaboration with adolescents (n=23), experts, school staff, and software developers. The development process consisted of 3 stages: scoping; end-user consultations, including a web-based survey and 2 focus groups with 23 adolescents (mean age 15.9, SD 0.6 years); and app development and beta-testing.

Results

This process resulted in a smartphone peer support app and introductory classroom lesson aimed at empowering adolescents to access evidence-based information and tools to better support peers regarding mental health and substance use–related issues. The program contains links to external support services and encourages adolescents to reach out for help if they are concerned about themselves or a friend.

Conclusions

The Mind your Mate program was developed in collaboration with a number of key stakeholders in youth mental health, including adolescents. The resulting program has the potential to be taken to scale to aid prevention efforts for youth mental health and substance use. The next step is to conduct a randomized controlled trial testing the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of the program.

Related collections

Most cited references 44

Record: found
Abstract: not found
Article: not found

A General Inductive Approach for Analyzing Qualitative Evaluation Data

D R Thomas (2006)

0 comments Cited 1113 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Age at onset of mental disorders worldwide: large-scale meta-analysis of 192 epidemiological studies

Marco Solmi, Joaquim Radua, Miriam Olivola … (2021)

Promotion of good mental health, prevention, and early intervention before/at the onset of mental disorders improve outcomes. However, the range and peak ages at onset for mental disorders are not fully established. To provide robust, global epidemiological estimates of age at onset for mental disorders, we conducted a PRISMA/MOOSE-compliant systematic review with meta-analysis of birth cohort/cross-sectional/cohort studies, representative of the general population, reporting age at onset for any ICD/DSM-mental disorders, identified in PubMed/Web of Science (up to 16/05/2020) (PROSPERO:CRD42019143015). Co-primary outcomes were the proportion of individuals with onset of mental disorders before age 14, 18, 25, and peak age at onset, for any mental disorder and across International Classification of Diseases 11 diagnostic blocks. Median age at onset of specific disorders was additionally investigated. Across 192 studies (n = 708,561) included, the proportion of individuals with onset of any mental disorders before the ages of 14, 18, 25 were 34.6%, 48.4%, 62.5%, and peak age was 14.5 years (k = 14, median = 18, interquartile range (IQR) = 11–34). For diagnostic blocks, the proportion of individuals with onset of disorder before the age of 14, 18, 25 and peak age were as follows: neurodevelopmental disorders: 61.5%, 83.2%, 95.8%, 5.5 years (k = 21, median=12, IQR = 7–16), anxiety/fear-related disorders: 38.1%, 51.8%, 73.3%, 5.5 years (k = 73, median = 17, IQR = 9–25), obsessive-compulsive/related disorders: 24.6%, 45.1%, 64.0%, 14.5 years (k = 20, median = 19, IQR = 14–29), feeding/eating disorders/problems: 15.8%, 48.1%, 82.4%, 15.5 years (k = 11, median = 18, IQR = 15–23), conditions specifically associated with stress disorders: 16.9%, 27.6%, 43.1%, 15.5 years (k = 16, median = 30, IQR = 17–48), substance use disorders/addictive behaviours: 2.9%, 15.2%, 48.8%, 19.5 years (k = 58, median = 25, IQR = 20–41), schizophrenia-spectrum disorders/primary psychotic states: 3%, 12.3%, 47.8%, 20.5 years (k = 36, median = 25, IQR = 20–34), personality disorders/related traits: 1.9%, 9.6%, 47.7%, 20.5 years (k = 6, median = 25, IQR = 20–33), and mood disorders: 2.5%, 11.5%, 34.5%, 20.5 years (k = 79, median = 31, IQR = 21–46). No significant difference emerged by sex, or definition of age of onset. Median age at onset for specific mental disorders mapped on a time continuum, from phobias/separation anxiety/autism spectrum disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/social anxiety (8-13 years) to anorexia nervosa/bulimia nervosa/obsessive-compulsive/binge eating/cannabis use disorders (17-22 years), followed by schizophrenia, personality, panic and alcohol use disorders (25-27 years), and finally post-traumatic/depressive/generalized anxiety/bipolar/acute and transient psychotic disorders (30-35 years), with overlap among groups and no significant clustering. These results inform the timing of good mental health promotion/preventive/early intervention, updating the current mental health system structured around a child/adult service schism at age 18.

0 comments Cited 518 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: not found
Article: not found

Clinical review of user engagement with mental health smartphone apps: evidence, theory and improvements

Helen Christensen, Joseph Firth, Mark Larsen … (2018)

0 comments Cited 276 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Contributors

Louise Birrell:

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1335-1382

The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance UseThe University of SydneyLevel 6, Jane Foss Russell Building (G02)Sydney, 2006Australia61 286279003louise.birrell@sydney.edu.au

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): JMIR Form Res

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): JMIR Form Res

Journal ID (publisher-id): JFR

Title: JMIR Formative Research

Publisher: JMIR Publications (Toronto, Canada )

ISSN (Electronic): 2561-326X

Publication date Collection: May 2022

Publication date (Electronic): 27 May 2022

Volume: 6

Issue: 5

Electronic Location Identifier: e36068

Affiliations

[1 ] The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use The University of Sydney Sydney Australia

Author notes

Corresponding Author: Louise Birrell louise.birrell@ 123456sydney.edu.au

Author information

Louise Birrell https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1335-1382

Ainsley Furneaux-Bate https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6266-2953

Jennifer Debenham https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9596-9484

Sophia Spallek https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5222-1794

Nicola Newton https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6305-2623

Catherine Chapman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2460-6862

Article

Publisher ID: v6i5e36068

DOI: 10.2196/36068

PMC ID: 9187963

PubMed ID: 35622401

SO-VID: 5ec4b5fe-5f0b-4c88-8a69-d1baa78bd7d4

Copyright © ©Louise Birrell, Ainsley Furneaux-Bate, Jennifer Debenham, Sophia Spallek, Nicola Newton, Catherine Chapman. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 27.05.2022.

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Formative Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://formative.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

History

Date received : 11 January 2022

Date revision requested : 17 March 2022

Date revision received : 4 April 2022

Date accepted : 11 April 2022

Comments

Comment on this article

scite_

Cited by 5

See all cited by

Most referenced authors 449

See all reference authors

Submit your digital health research with an established publisher
- celebrating 25 years of open access