Transdiagnostic internet intervention for indonesian university students with depression and anxiety: Evaluation of feasibility and acceptability

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Metta Rahmadiana
  • Eirini Karyotaki
  • Mieke Schulte
  • David Daniel Ebert
  • Jan Passchier
  • Pim Cuijpers
  • Thomas Berger
  • Wouter van Ballegooijen
  • Supra Wimbarti
  • Heleen Riper

Background: University students with depression and anxiety do not easily receive or seek treatment; therefore, internet-based interventions have been suggested to be a promising way to improve treatment accessibility and availability. However, it has not been examined whether a guided, culturally adapted, transdiagnostic, internet-based intervention is effective for treating symptoms of depression, anxiety, or both among university students in Indonesia. Objective: This study aims to investigate the feasibility (acceptability and satisfaction, usability, and uptake) of a guided, culturally adapted, transdiagnostic, internet-based intervention among university students with symptoms of depression, anxiety, or both in Indonesia. Methods: Students from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, were screened for symptoms of depression, anxiety, or both, and filled online informed consent, demographic questionnaires, and a quality of life measure at pretreatment assessment (T0). Subsequently, the participants started the intervention. Seven weeks after T0, the primary outcomes of this feasibility study were analyzed at posttreatment assessment (T1) using the 8-item Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) and the System Usability Scale (SUS). Mean and SDs for the CSQ-8 and SUS were calculated to examine feasibility. Within-group secondary outcomes (depression, anxiety, and quality of life) were inspected for outliers and normal distribution. Paired-sample t tests were used to investigate differences between time points of secondary outcomes. A mixed-method approach of quantitative and qualitative analyses was adopted. Both the primary and secondary outcomes were additionally explored with an individual semistructured interview and synthesized descriptively. Results: A total of 50 participants completed the intervention. We found a moderate to high level of satisfaction and acceptability, a slightly below-average level of desirable usability (≥70), and an adherence rate of 52% which was higher than expected given the novelty of the intervention. Results for the secondary outcomes indicated a decrease in depression and anxiety. For depression, the overall mean difference between the 2 time points for depression was 3.92 (95% CI 2.75-5.1; Hedges g 1.15; P<.001). For anxiety, the overall mean difference between the 2 time points was 3.34 (95% CI 2.06-4.61; Hedges g 1.02; P<.001). Further, a moderate effect in improving quality of life was found (g=0.50). Overall, participants were positive about the online intervention and ECoaches (online guidance), and they found the intervention to be culturally appropriate. Conclusions: A culturally adapted, transdiagnostic, internet-based intervention appears to be acceptable and feasible for reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, or both, and increasing quality of life in university students in Indonesia. Future studies should include a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of such interventions as they may supplement existing counseling services in universities, reduce the treatment costs, and maximize treatment accessibility in low-resourced settings.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere20036
JournalJMIR Mental Health
Volume8
Issue number3
Number of pages14
ISSN2368-7959
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 05.03.2021

Bibliographical note

This work was supported by the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan), Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia which provided a PhD scholarship and research funding for the first author (MR). The first author wishes to thank the research assistants Aril, Achi, Icha, Erna, Rara, Olaff, Isti, Deksi, Nana, Dila, Berta, and the study participants of the I-AiMentalWELLness intervention.

    Research areas

  • Anxiety, Cultural adaptation, Depression, Guided, Internet-based intervention, Transdiagnostic, University students
  • Health sciences

DOI

Recently viewed

Activities

  1. Five reasons why we think Agre’s ‘Surveillance and Capture’ is a classic STS paper
  2. Lüneburg Workshop in Economics 2018: "Microeconomics"
  3. Challenging Conventional Statistical Metrics for Gender Equity in Exhibitions Ecosystem
  4. Leuphana Universität Lüneburg (Organisation)
  5. L’Union et les états face aux revendications et aux exceptions
  6. Überall Theater - auf dem Wege in die Inszenierungsgesellschaft?
  7. 9. Kultur und Informatik - Multimediale Systeme 2011
  8. Malattia e Salute.: Prospettive Filosofiche
  9. Mythos und Wahrheit
  10. Universität von Siena
  11. Wiederkehr der Utopie?
  12. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (Fachzeitschrift)
  13. Tagung "From the Old to the New Tourism: Managing Change in the Tourism Industry" - 2006
  14. Die Kunstreligion: Hegels Phänomenologie des Geistes als Ursprung seiner Ästhetik
  15. Démocratie absolue. Actualité et enjeux d'un concept classique
  16. Budapest CEU Conference on Cognitive Development 2018
  17. Mathematididaktisches Kolloquium der Universität Bamberg 2012
  18. Wahrheit und Wahrhaftigkeit
  19. Lehrerfortbildung 2013
  20. Ringvorlesung "Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes" WiSe 2014/2015
  21. Hilf mir es selbst zu tun - Lehrerinterventionen im selbständigkeitsorientierten Lösungsprozess
  22. Das Anfertigen von Notizen als Lernstrategie beim mathematischen Modellieren
  23. European Educational Research Association (EERA) (Externe Organisation)
  24. De la lutte des classes aux antagonismes diffus
  25. Vortrag an der Hochschule der Künste Bern - 2009
  26. 42. Brandenburger Regionalgespräch des IRS