Effect of a Mental Wellness App on the Mental Wellness of Medical and Nurse Anesthesia Students

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Mental health issues and suicide are becoming increasingly common among health care trainees and providers. Suicide is the leading cause of death among male medical residents and the second leading cause of death among female residents.

Detailed Description
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Training programs are usually very rigorous, caring for patients is stressful, and those who care for others often feel that they can't or shouldn't admit that they need care themselves. Unfortunately, there is often a stigma associated with mental illness, and trainees may feel that admitting that they struggle could damage their careers. The need exists for easily accessible, immediate, crisis support for medical trainees who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Although the effectiveness of mental health apps has been evaluated in college students, there is very little data assessing their use in medical and nurse anesthesia students. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of a mental wellness app on the mental wellness of medical and nurse anesthesia students.

Official Title
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Effect of a Mental Wellness App on the Mental Wellness of Medical and Nurse Anesthesia Students

Conditions
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Mental Health Issue

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: QActual


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: first-year medical students and second-year nurse anesthesia (CRNA) students from Wake Forest University School of Medicine during the 2023 - 2024 academic year (approximately July 2023 - June 2024). Exclusion Criteria: none

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 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: Supportive Care
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Interventional Model Description: This will be a non-randomized, control-group, year-long study exploring the impact of a mental wellness app on various aspects of mental wellness in first-year medical students and second-year nurse anesthesia (CRNA) students from Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) during the 2023 - 2024 academic year (approximately July 2023 - June 2024).
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: QActual<br>QActual is a phone-based app that offers peer-to-peer support, tracks mental wellness self-assessments, and provides support to users who are in crisis. | Behavioral: QActual<br>* QActual is a phone-based app that offers peer-to-peer support, tracks mental wellness self-assessments, and provides support to users who are in crisis.<br>|
| No Intervention: Control Arm - Subjects not using App<br>No intervention | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores | Scores less than 5 almost always signified the absence of a depressive disorder; scores of 5 to 9 predominantly represented patients with either no depression or subthreshold (i.e., other) depression; scores of 10 to 14 represented a spectrum of patients; and scores of 15 or greater usually indicated major depression. | Baseline | 
| Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores | Scores less than 5 almost always signified the absence of a depressive disorder; scores of 5 to 9 predominantly represented patients with either no depression or subthreshold (i.e., other) depression; scores of 10 to 14 represented a spectrum of patients; and scores of 15 or greater usually indicated major depression. | Month 3 | 
| Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores | Scores less than 5 almost always signified the absence of a depressive disorder; scores of 5 to 9 predominantly represented patients with either no depression or subthreshold (i.e., other) depression; scores of 10 to 14 represented a spectrum of patients; and scores of 15 or greater usually indicated major depression. | Month 6 | 
| Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores | Scores less than 5 almost always signified the absence of a depressive disorder; scores of 5 to 9 predominantly represented patients with either no depression or subthreshold (i.e., other) depression; scores of 10 to 14 represented a spectrum of patients; and scores of 15 or greater usually indicated major depression. | Month 9 | 
| Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores | Scores less than 5 almost always signified the absence of a depressive disorder; scores of 5 to 9 predominantly represented patients with either no depression or subthreshold (i.e., other) depression; scores of 10 to 14 represented a spectrum of patients; and scores of 15 or greater usually indicated major depression. | Year 1 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Number of crisis alerts triggered | Number of crisis alerts triggered | Year 1 | 
| Number of daily wellness check-ins completed | Number of daily wellness check-ins completed | Year 1 | 
| Satisfaction with the app Scores | Satisfaction with the app scores - a global scale that is used to assess attitudes and views. It is a scale with 5 answer options which has two utmost poles and a neutral option linked with intermediate answer options. For example, agree, fully agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, and fully disagree | Year 1 | 
| Time periods associated with lower daily wellness check scores | Time periods associated with lower daily wellness check scores (these will be compared to the academic calendar to detect any correlations) - The mean daily wellness check scores for Medical students and CRNA students will be retrospectively reviewed. Days where the mean score for the day differ significantly from the mean score for the year will be recorded | Year 1 | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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stress levels, anxiety, depression