Developing a Text Messaging Intervention to Increase Uptake of the Screening and Treatment for Anxiety and Depression...

Area of Science:

• Mental Health
• Digital Health Interventions
• Community College Education

Background:

• Community college students face significant mental health challenges with low treatment-seeking rates.
• Barriers to mental health service uptake are known, but effective strategies for this population are understudied.
• Text messaging shows promise for overcoming engagement barriers in mental health services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To co-design and pilot-test a text messaging intervention with community college students.
• To address barriers and increase uptake of the Screening and Treatment for Anxiety and Depression (STAND) program.
• To apply a human-centered design approach in developing digital mental health tools.

Main Methods:

• Conducted parallel co-design focus groups with community college students.
• Utilized rapid qualitative analysis to identify themes and develop text message prototypes.
• Assessed intervention usability through six factors on a 5-point Likert scale.

Main Results:

• Identified key themes regarding texting perceptions, STAND barriers, and intervention framework.
• Students co-developed a framework including personalized, tailored text messages.
• Positive usability ratings (3.88-4.25) were obtained for satisfaction, helpfulness, and engagement.

Conclusions:

• A human-centered co-design process can create effective text messaging interventions for student mental health.
• The developed intervention framework shows potential for improving mental health service engagement.
• Further research is necessary to rigorously evaluate the intervention's response and effectiveness.