Exploring the demand, practicality, and acceptability of a mental health application intervention for students at a South African university

Abstract

Mobile health (mHealth) interventions for mental health and well-being have increased exponentially in recent years. In this digital era, mHealth interventions are proving to be a useful tool in the promotion of mental health for university students. This mixed-methods study explored the feasibility, practicality, and acceptability of a mental health application (app) designed to address mental health challenges among university students. Overall, a total of 1100 participants completed an online survey, and data were analysed using statistical analytics software. Most of the participants were female (72.73%) within the 18–20 age group (64.64%) and in their first year of study (46.18%). The results show that at least 98.7% of the participants owned a smartphone, 80.8% had access to mobile data, 66.9% used Android software, 20.09% had historically been diagnosed with a mental health challenge, and 26.6% had used an online health app. Sixty-two participants were enrolled across 16 focus group discussions. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis, which revealed four facilitators of app acceptability (exposure to mental health apps, convenience, accessibility, and confidentiality) and three barriers to app acceptability (preference for face-to-face therapy, overreliance on app, and fear of misdiagnosis). The findings suggest that an app that is convenient, accessible, confidential, and nonpathologising can be a feasible and acceptable intervention to address mental health challenges.