Assessing user acceptance of a mental health app & its impact on depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder related knowledge: A mixed method experimental study

Abstract

Mental health problems have become a public health challenge particularly among younger generation. The research gap in mental health care and prevalence of issues in access to care services has led to a growing demand for treatment options. Digital health technologies exhibit the potential to supplement mental health clinics by facilitating accessible and affordable services. Here we develop and evaluate the effectiveness of My Friendly Mind, a web-based app, designed to increase awareness of depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) while providing preliminary mental health screening. The objectives of this study were threefold. First to identify and analyze the factors influencing the intention to use the My Friendly Mind app. Second, to evaluate the app’s impact on users’ knowledge about depression and ADHD. Third, to capture users’ overall perception of the My Friendly Mind app. Seventy-Seven individuals with mental health problems participated in the study with the mean age of 24 years. Of all the participants 43 were males. Our findings indicate that perceived usefulness significantly influences both the intention to utilize the app and attitudes toward mental health improvement. A pre- and post-intervention analysis demonstrated a significant improvement in participants’ mental health knowledge. The semi-structured interviews revealed the app’s strengths and identified areas for improvement, with participants expressing a strong inclination to continue using the app, indicating its potential as a valuable resource for student mental health support. In conclusion, our app effectively increases users’ knowledge about- and familiarity with- depression and ADHD while providing a user-friendly platform for preliminary mental health screening. Future research should prioritize user-centered design, content depth, educational material integration, longitudinal engagement analysis, user feedback incorporation, and exploration of digital inequalities. Addressing these areas will contribute to the development of more effective and user-friendly mHealth applications, ultimately improving mental health outcomes.