eprintid: 10127056
rev_number: 26
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/10/12/70/56
datestamp: 2021-07-20 16:38:35
lastmod: 2021-12-19 00:15:46
status_changed: 2021-07-20 16:38:35
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Moltrecht, B
creators_name: Patalay, P
creators_name: Deighton, J
creators_name: Edbrooke-Childs, J
title: A School-Based Mobile App Intervention for Enhancing Emotion Regulation in Children: Exploratory Trial.
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B16
divisions: B14
divisions: J81
divisions: B02
divisions: C07
divisions: D05
divisions: F66
divisions: D14
divisions: GA3
divisions: G17
keywords: Child mental health, digital mental health, emotion regulation, mhealth, mobile phone, school intervention
note: © Bettina Moltrecht, Praveetha Patalay, Jessica Deighton, Julian Edbrooke-Childs. Originally published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (https://mhealth.jmir.org), 14.07.2021.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the or
abstract: BACKGROUND: Most mental health disorders are first experienced in childhood. The rising rates of mental health difficulties in children highlight the need for innovative approaches to supporting children and preventing these difficulties. School-based digital interventions that address shared risk factors and symptoms, such as emotion dysregulation, present exciting opportunities to enhance mental health support for children on a larger scale. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the use of a new app-based intervention designed to support children's emotion regulation in schools. The aim is to optimize the usability, acceptability, and utility of the app and explore its scope for implementation with the target user in the school context. METHODS: As part of an interdisciplinary development framework, the app is being evaluated in a 3-month trial across 4 primary schools. In total, 144 children (aged 10-12 years) took part and accessed the intervention app in the classroom or at home. Outcomes regarding usability, acceptability, and implementation opportunities were assessed through digital user data, self-report questionnaires (132/144, 91.6%), and semistructured interviews with children (19/144, 13.2%) and teachers (6/8, 75%). RESULTS: The app usage data showed that 30% (128/426) of the users were returning users. Self-report data indicated that 40.1% (53/132) of the children had not used the app, whereas 57.5% (76/132) had used it once or more. Of the children who had used the app, 67% (51/76) reported that the app was helpful. Interviews with children and teachers suggested positive experiences with the app and that it helped them to calm down and relax. Children reported that they perceived the app as acceptable, usable, and helpful. In terms of the intervention's usability, most features functioned well; however, certain technical issues were reported, which may have led to reduced engagement levels. Teachers not only reported overall positive experiences but also discussed access difficulties and reported a lack of content as one of the main barriers to implementing the app. Having a web-based app significantly enhanced accessibility across devices and settings and provided teachers with more opportunities to use it. We identified the need for new, activating app features in addition to the existing, primarily relaxing ones. The findings indicated that it is possible to use and evaluate an app intervention in the school context and that the app could help enhance children's emotion regulation. We discuss areas for improvement regarding the app, study design, and future implementation strategies. CONCLUSIONS: We share important insights with regard to the development, implementation, and evaluation of a new app for supporting children's emotion regulation in schools. Our results demonstrate that mental health apps represent a promising means to facilitate effective mental health service provision in and outside of the school context. Important lessons learned are shared to support other researchers and clinicians on similar journeys.
date: 2021-07
date_type: published
official_url: http://doi.org/10.2196/21837
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 1861523
doi: 10.2196/21837
pii: v9i7e21837
lyricists_name: Childs, Julian
lyricists_name: Deighton, Jessica
lyricists_name: Moltrecht, Bettina
lyricists_name: Patalay, Praveetha
lyricists_id: JCHIL05
lyricists_id: JDEIG68
lyricists_id: MOLTR10
lyricists_id: PATAL55
actors_name: Zahnhausen-Stuber, Petra
actors_id: PMZAH20
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
volume: 9
number: 7
article_number: e21837
event_location: Canada
citation:        Moltrecht, B;    Patalay, P;    Deighton, J;    Edbrooke-Childs, J;      (2021)    A School-Based Mobile App Intervention for Enhancing Emotion Regulation in Children: Exploratory Trial.                   JMIR mHealth and uHealth , 9  (7)    , Article e21837.  10.2196/21837 <https://doi.org/10.2196/21837>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10127056/3/Moltrecht_PDF.pdf