MyPocketPal Feasibility Study

June 21, 2026 updated by: Nanyang Technological University

Feasibility and Acceptability of a Working Alliance-Informed Digital Mental Health App for University Students: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Participants will take part in a 4-week study consisting of two in-person sessions. During the first session, participants will complete a demographic form and baseline questionnaire, after which the study application will be installed on their preferred device. A research team member will provide a brief introduction to the application, guide participants through the registration process, and schedule the second session. Participants will then be randomly assigned to one of two study conditions, with each group receiving a different version of the application's mental health content.

Over the following four weeks, participants may use the application freely and at their own discretion. The application will send weekly reminders based on participants' preferred day and time, but no further contact will be initiated by the research team unless participants require assistance or wish to withdraw. Depending on their assigned condition, participants will either access standard mental health content or content delivered through a virtual agent that introduces weekly themes and recommends resources based on individual interests. The application will automatically record user interactions, such as content viewed, duration of use, and navigation patterns, for research analysis.

At the end of the study period, participants will attend a second in-person session where they will complete a follow-up questionnaire and participate in a short semi-structured interview. The questionnaires and interview will assess participants' perceptions of the application, including therapeutic alliance, perceived usefulness, and intention to continue using it. The interview will also provide additional insights to help interpret participants' usage patterns and experiences with the application. Participants will receive compensation upon completion of the study.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

70

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Singapore
      • Singapore, Singapore
        • Nanyang Technological University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age: Between 15 and 35 years of age.
  • Enrollment: Currently enrolled as students at a local university.
  • Language: Proficient in English.
  • Technology: Owned a smartphone capable of running the study application.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age: Below 15 or above 35 years of age.
  • Enrollment: Not currently enrolled as students at a local university.
  • Language: Not proficient in English.
  • Technology: Does not own a smartphone capable of running the study application.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention
The intervention group used an application whose design was guided by digital working alliance.
Other: MyPocketPal
The intervention app, MyPocketPal, is a digital mental health literacy application designed for university students and informed by the digital working alliance framework. The app aims to enhance mental health knowledge and engagement through personalized, contextually relevant content tailored to students' interests and experiences. It includes six modules covering mental health information, personal stories, self-help tools, wellness resources, support services, and additional resources. A virtual agent introduces weekly content and provides recommendations based on user preferences. Interactive features such as guided breathing exercises, meditation, journaling, and mental health screening tools are incorporated to promote engagement, while content is released progressively to reduce information overload and encourage sustained use.
Active Comparator: Control
The control group used a standard digital well-being resource available to students through the university's well-being office.
Other: Control
The control application consisted of a digital mental health resource that presented general well-being content commonly available to university students. Content included articles, infographics, videos, event listings, support contacts, and links to external mental health tools covering topics such as stress management, sleep hygiene, mindfulness, and overall well-being. Information was organized into browsable categories and updated regularly.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Perceived Usefulness, Attitude and Intention to Use from Technology Acceptance Model
Time Frame: Scores were collected prior to starting the study and at the end of the 4 week study during follow up.

9 Items used to measure the Technology Acceptance Model constructs of Perceived Usefulness, Attitude and Intention to Use were adapted from were adapted from Klopping and McKinney (2004), Yu and Yu (2010), and Ahadzadeh, Sharif (2015).

The measurements were taken utilizing a 7 point Likert scale where 1 represented Strongly Disagree and 7 represented Strongly Agree
Scores were collected prior to starting the study and at the end of the 4 week study during follow up.
Changes in scores from Baseline in Digital Working Alliance Inventory at the end of 4 week intervention.
Time Frame: Scores were collected prior to starting the study and at the end of the 4 week study during follow up.

6 Items used to measure the constructs of Shared Goals, Task Relevance, Bonds and Digital Working Alliance were adapted from Goldberd et al. (2022)

The measurements were taken utilizing a 7 point Likert scale where 1 represented Strongly Disagree and 7 represented Strongly Agree
Scores were collected prior to starting the study and at the end of the 4 week study during follow up.
Changes in scores from Baseline in Technological Self-Efficacy and Task Technology Fit at the end of 4 week intervention.
Time Frame: Scores were collected prior to starting the study and at the end of the 4 week study during follow up.

6 Items measuring were used to measure the constructs of Technological Self-Efficacy and Task Technology Fit were adapted from Becker (2016).

The measurements were taken utilizing a 7 point Likert scale where 1 represented Strongly Disagree and 7 represented Strongly Agree.
Scores were collected prior to starting the study and at the end of the 4 week study during follow up.
Number of Logins Per Week
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 weeks
Participants were advised to log in once per week. To track adherence, the number of logins to the application (where the application was launched and brought to the foreground) was collected. This data was collected automatically by the application. The value ranges from 0 to X where 0 represents no logins and X where X is an integer representing the number of logins and will be used to understand a participants weekly adherence and engagement.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 weeks
Number of Minutes Spent in the Application Per Week
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 weeks
To track engagement, the number of minutes spent in the application was collected. Users were considered to be spending time in the application when the application was launched and in the foreground of the mobile device. This data was collected automatically by the application. The value ranges from 0 to X where 0 represents 0 minutes spent in the application and X is an integer representing the total number of minutes spent in the application, and will be used to understand a participant's weekly engagement.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Nanyang Technological University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 24, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 5, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

June 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 16, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 21, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 25, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 25, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 21, 2026

Last Verified

November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB-2023-233

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Adherence

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Montenegro

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe