Fig 1.
Flowchart of the recruitment process and the study design.
Fig 2.
Since the app is only available in Japanese, English captions are shown in the screenshots. (A) The Mental App icon. A magnified view is also shown. (B) The main screen of the record function. A calendar system was used to record daily conditions. Users can tap the date to record the conditions of that day. (C) Recording daily conditions. The screenshot shows a screen asking about users’ appetite for the day. Users choose the extent of their appetite by tapping the corresponding button. Users can swipe the screen to go to the next question. (D) The summary of the conditions of the day. In the record function, users can record their daily appetite, exercise, sleep time, and mood. (E) The main screen of the screening function for mental disorders. Users can start the screening test for mental disorders. (F) Example of the screening test. The screenshot shows the screening test for depression. (G) Results of the screening test. If the screening test was positive, more detailed tests for each disorder were offered to determine the severity. (H) Assessment of the severity of each mental disorder. According to the severity, the app offered the users advice and information (e.g., the contact information of the campus clinic or the nearest clinics, the website of campus clinic, a self-care website, and contact information of public consulting services). Furthermore, users could learn about each disorder by tapping the blue button.
Table 1.
Demographics of subjects who completed the post-study.
Fig 3.
(A) Histogram of days spent using the app. (B) Histogram of screen time of the app. (C) Histogram of the total number of actions (screen taps or swipes).
Table 2.
Summary of log data.
Table 3.
Results of the psychological tests.
Fig 4.
Comparison of the difference in the psychological test scores before and after the intervention (Δvalue) between app users and non-users.
(A) There was no significant difference in the Δvalue of the LSS score (ΔLSS) between the app user and non-user groups (p = 0.496). (B) There was no significant between-group difference in the Δvalue of the CES-D score (ΔCES-D; p = 0.143). (C) Comparison of the Δvalue of the GHQ-12 (ΔGHQ-12) between the app user and non-user groups. The app user group showed a significantly greater difference score than that of the non-user group (p = 0.007). Mann-Whitney U test, *p < .05.
Table 4.
Comparison of app user and non-user group using ANCOVAs in post-test with pre-test as covariates.
Table 5.
Participants’ impressions of the Mental App.