A Randomized Controlled Trial With an Internal Pilot of a Co-Designed App Targeting Upstream Suicide-Related Risk and...

Area of Science:

• Mental Health
• Digital Health
• Suicide Prevention

Background:

• International students experience high rates of suicidal ideation but low help-seeking behavior.
• Bud is a novel, co-designed mobile application for upstream suicide prevention.
• The app targets transdiagnostic mechanisms linked to suicide risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness, acceptability, engagement, and safety of the Bud app.
• To compare Bud against a structured psychoeducational intervention.
• To evaluate Bud's impact on psychological distress and other mental health outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 312 international students in Australia.
• Participants were assigned to either the Bud app or psychoeducational fact sheets (1:1 ratio).
• Outcomes, including psychological distress (K10), were measured at baseline, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks.

Main Results:

• Both groups showed similar reductions in psychological distress, with no statistically significant difference between Bud and the comparator.
• Emotion regulation and suicidal ideation patterns were consistent across both groups.
• Bud was rated as enjoyable and usable, with moderate engagement and no adverse events.

Conclusions:

• The Bud mobile app is feasible, acceptable, and safe for international students.
• Bud did not demonstrate superior effectiveness compared to a psychoeducational comparator over a 4-week period.
• The findings suggest further investigation into optimizing digital interventions for student mental health is warranted.