Christo El Morr|Paul Ritvo|Farah Ahmad|Rahim Moineddin|Mvc Team
Effectiveness of an 8-Week Web-Based Mindfulness Virtual Community Intervention for University Students on Symptoms of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial
York University|York University|York University|Public Health Ontario|University of Toronto
student mental health crisis increasingly acknowledged intensify covid19 crisis given accessibility methods demonstrated efficacy reducing depression anxiety eg mindfulness meditation cognitive behavioral therapy cbt limitations imposed geographic obstructions localized expertise webbased alternatives become vehicles scaledup delivery benefits modest cost mindfulness virtual community mvc webbased program informed cbt constructs featuring online videos discussion forums videoconferencing developed target depression anxiety experiences excess stress among university studentsthe aim study assess effectiveness 8week webbased mindfulness cbt program reducing symptoms depression anxiety stress primary outcomes increasing mindfulness secondary outcome within randomized controlled trial rct undergraduate students large canadian universityan rct designed assess undergraduate students n160 randomly allocated webbased guided mindfulnesscbt condition n80 waitlist control wlc condition n80 8week intervention consisted webbased platform comprising 1 12 videobased modules psychoeducation students preidentified life challenges applied mindfulness practice 2 anonymous peertopeer discussion forums 3 anonymous groupbased professionally guided 20minute live videoconferences outcomes depression anxiety stress mindfulness measured via online survey baseline 8 weeks postintervention using patient health questionnaire9 phq9 beck anxiety inventory bai perceived stress scale pss five facets mindfulness questionnaire short form ffmqsf analyses employed generalized estimation equation methods ar1 covariance structures adjusted possible covariates gender age country birth ethnicity english first language paid work unpaid work relationship status physical exercise selfrated health access private mental health counselingof 159 students provided t1 data 32 males 125 females mean age 2255 years participants mvc n79 wlc n80 groups similar sociodemographic characteristics t1 exception gender weekly hours unpaid volunteer work postintervention followup according adjusted comparisons statistically significant betweengroup reductions depression scores 221 p01 anxiety scores 482 p006 significant increase mindfulness scores 484 p02 compared wlc group statistically significant differences perceived stress mvc 64 p48 compared wlcwith mvc intervention significantly reduced depression anxiety symptoms significant effect perceived stress online mindfulness interventions effective addressing common mental health conditions among postsecondary populations large scale simultaneously reducing current burden traditional counseling servicesisrctn registry isrctn12249616 httpwwwisrctncomisrctn12249616