Online HOPE Intervention on Mental Health Literacy Among Youths in Singapore: An RCT Protocol

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The author developed the HOPE intervention based on a systematic review (Tay, Tay, & Klainin-Yobas, 2018). The overall aim of the study is to test the effectiveness of the online HOPE intervention in enhancing mental health literacy, depression literacy, psychological well-being and in reducing stress among youths aged 18 - 24 living in Singapore.

Detailed Description
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The study will be a two-group, parallel randomized control trial (RCT), with a pre-test, post-test and repeated, control group design. he overall aim of the study is to test the effectiveness of the online HOPE intervention in enhancing mental health literacy, on depression literacy, psychological well-being and in reducing stress among youths aged 18 - 24 living in Singapore.

Official Title
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Online HOPE Intervention on Mental Health Literacy Among Youths in Singapore: An RCT Protocol

Conditions
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Mental Health Literacy, Depression Literacy, Psychological Well-being, Stress, Psychological

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Online HOPE intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: : a) students of a particular University in Singapore, b) aged between 18 to 24 years old, c) had internet access and d) could read, write and understand the English language. Exclusion Criteria: Exclusion criteria were reading or hearing disabilities. This was because the online HOPE intervention consists of written words and videos that require visual and auditory abilities, respectively.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 24 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Intervention<br>The HOPE intervention can be accessed through web. It consists of two sessions per week, with a total of four sessions. In this study, participants will be sent weekly weblinks for access to each session. Each session take about ten minutes to complete. Each session consist of pre-post multiple-choice and/or open-end question, video(s) and mental health information. The first session is about depression. The second session is about positive psychology and consists of relevant exercises such as gratitude, affect-based and strength-based exercises. The third session describes anxiety disorder. The last session describes relaxation techniques and self-management of unhelpful thoughts. Each session consists of quizzes, video(s), and graphical / written information | Behavioral: Online HOPE intervention<br>* Online HOPE intervention to increase mental health literacy<br>|
| Active Comparator: Control<br>The group will receive a control website intervention that consists of several graphical inspirational quotes. Examples of the quotes are, 'Today is full of possible' and 'You can do anything'. | Behavioral: Online HOPE intervention<br>* Online HOPE intervention to increase mental health literacy<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Depression Literacy | using D-Lit. The scale consists of 22 items that are scored 'true', 'false' or 'don't know'. Greater scores equate greater depression MHL. | Change from baseline depression literacy to post intervention (up to 1 month), and follow up at 2 months | 
| Anxiety literacy | A-Lit. The scale consists of 22 items that are scored 'true', 'false' or 'don't know'. Greater scores equate greater anxiety MHL. | Change from baseline depression literacy to post intervention (up to 1 month), and follow up at 2 months | 
| Mental health literacy | depression vignette (shortened) | Change from baseline depression literacy to post intervention (up to 1 month), and follow up at 2 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Psychological well-being | Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale. PWB can be measured by the 18-items psychological well-being scale that measures the six dimensions of PWB (Ryff, 1989). The scale ranges from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Scores ranged from 18 to 123, with greater points indicating greater PWB. | Change from baseline depression literacy to post intervention (up to 1 month), and follow up at 2 months | 
| Stress | Perceived Stress Scale. The 10-question perceived stress scale (PSS) consists of five response categories: never (0), almost never (1), sometimes (2), fairly often (3), and very often (4). Total scores range from 0 to 56, with higher scores indicating higher stress. | Change from baseline depression literacy to post intervention (up to 1 month), and follow up at 2 months |