TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of COVID-19 on the psychological health of university students in Spain and their attitudes toward Mobile mental health solutions
AU - Marques, Gonçalo
AU - Drissi, Nidal
AU - Díez, Isabel de la Torre
AU - de Abajo, Beatriz Sainz
AU - Ouhbi, Sofia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2021/3
Y1 - 2021/3
N2 - Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an impact on several aspects of life, including university students’ mental health. Mobile mental care applications (apps) comprise a form of online mental care that enables the delivery of remote mental care. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of university students in Spain and to explore their attitudes toward the use of mobile mental care apps. Method: Respondents answered a survey, which comprised two sections. The first included the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) that was employed to assess the students’ mental health. The second section included six questions developed by the authors to explore the students’ attitudes toward mental care apps. Results: The results showed that the students suffered from anxiety and depression as well as social dysfunction. Further, 91.3 % of the students had never used a mobile app for mental health, 36.3 % were unaware of such apps, and 79.2 % were willing to use them in the future. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the psychological health of university students. Mobile mental care apps may be an effective and efficient way to access mental care, particularly during a pandemic.
AB - Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an impact on several aspects of life, including university students’ mental health. Mobile mental care applications (apps) comprise a form of online mental care that enables the delivery of remote mental care. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of university students in Spain and to explore their attitudes toward the use of mobile mental care apps. Method: Respondents answered a survey, which comprised two sections. The first included the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) that was employed to assess the students’ mental health. The second section included six questions developed by the authors to explore the students’ attitudes toward mental care apps. Results: The results showed that the students suffered from anxiety and depression as well as social dysfunction. Further, 91.3 % of the students had never used a mobile app for mental health, 36.3 % were unaware of such apps, and 79.2 % were willing to use them in the future. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the psychological health of university students. Mobile mental care apps may be an effective and efficient way to access mental care, particularly during a pandemic.
KW - Apps
KW - Attitudes
KW - COVID-19
KW - GHQ-12
KW - Mental health
KW - Mobile health
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2020.104369
DO - 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2020.104369
M3 - Article
C2 - 33388481
AN - SCOPUS:85098710067
SN - 1386-5056
VL - 147
JO - International Journal of Medical Informatics
JF - International Journal of Medical Informatics
M1 - 104369
ER -