Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic increased education-related distress among University students globally, including in Indonesia. Psychological factors, such as academic demands, limited opportunity to meet their peers, problematic use of technology, and domestic problems, influenced the well-being of the students, leading to poor academic performance. A mobile-based counseling application was developed to address the distress among University students. The application was meant to reach students living remotely to enable them to access psychological assistance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe a protocol aimed to evaluate the equivalence of the application when compared to the Treatment-As-Usual (TAU) in increasing the coping self-efficacy (CSE) and resilience of students as well as in decreasing their level of depression. A two-armed parallel randomized control non-inferiority trial will be conducted among approximately 430 students with selected academic problems. The participants will be randomly allocated into the TAU and the intervention groups. The primary and secondary outcomes will be measured by the Indonesian versions of the Coping Self-Efficacy (CSE) Scale, the Resilience Scale (RS-14), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The data will be collected at baseline, at the end of each session, and after 3 months. The outcomes will be analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVAs, intention-to-treat, and per-protocol analysis. If proven, the application will be used as an alternative media in helping the students.Clinical Trial Registration: Thailand Clinical Trials Registry (TCTR20200530001); Date of registration: May 28, 2020.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic influenced many aspects of human health as follows: infecting many people, causing severe disease, and increasing mortality rate, especially among vulnerable people (World Health Organization, 2020)
This study describes a study that will be conducted as a twoarmed parallel randomized controlled non-inferiority trial
While academic distress during the pandemic is the main focus of this study, the application is designed to be relevant to a broad range of mild psychological issues among young people
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic influenced many aspects of human health as follows: infecting many people, causing severe disease, and increasing mortality rate, especially among vulnerable people (World Health Organization, 2020). The pandemic disrupts other aspects of human life, since the virus is transmitted between people through indirect, direct, and close contact. People stayed at home to avoid contact with other people, though this social isolation may lead to adverse psychological conditions. According to Tull et al (2020), people tend to be anxious, worried, and lonely under stay-at-home order. The total sleep time and screen time decrease and increase, respectively, thereby affecting their moods significantly (Conroy et al, 2021). Park et al (2020) stated that the pandemic increases the uncertainty that affects well-being and stress The total sleep time and screen time decrease and increase, respectively, thereby affecting their moods significantly (Conroy et al, 2021). Park et al (2020) stated that the pandemic increases the uncertainty that affects well-being and stress
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
