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The PsyPills app for stress management. What do the users think? A usability study
Oana A David1,2, Vasile Sîrbu1, Cristina Tomoiagă1
1DATA Lab, International Institute for Advsanced Studies in Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Disability and Rehabilitation. Assistive Technology
|March 4, 2026
Summary
The PsyPills mobile health app demonstrates above-average usability for users experiencing psychological distress. This study confirms its potential as an accessible tool for mental well-being support.
Area of Science:
- Digital health
- Human-computer interaction
- Psychology
Background:
- Limited research exists on mHealth app usability from end-user perspectives.
- The PsyPills app, initially for iOS, showed efficacy in reducing emotional distress.
- The app was updated for iOS/Android, adding assessment tools and physiological/behavioral tracking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the usability of the updated PsyPills mobile health application.
- To assess user perceptions of the app's ease of use and effectiveness.
Main Methods:
- 133 participants (aged 18-65) used the PsyPills app for 2-4 weeks.
- The System Usability Scale (SUS) was administered to assess usability.
- Participants had smartphone access.
Main Results:
- The mean SUS score was 70.94 (SD = 16.78), indicating above-average usability.
- Usability and learnability factors performed well, falling into grade C to C+.
- The app demonstrated favorable usability across both iOS and Android platforms.
Conclusions:
- The updated PsyPills app exhibits favorable usability.
- PsyPills shows potential as a widely accessible tool for managing psychological distress.
- Further research can build upon these findings to enhance digital mental health interventions.
Keywords:
Ecological momentary interventionPsyPillsassistive technologymobile healthmobile interventionstress managementusability studyuser experienceMore Related Videos
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