Investigating Project Care UK, a Web-Based Self-Help Single-Session Intervention for Youth Mental Health: Program Evaluation
BackgroundPsychological distress becomes more common during adolescence, yet many young people struggle to access clinic-based mental health care. Digital, self-help single-session interventions (SSIs) could extend current provision and overcome barriers to help seeking....
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
JMIR Publications
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | JMIR Mental Health |
| Online Access: | https://mental.jmir.org/2025/1/e72077 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850218106917486592 |
|---|---|
| author | Maria Elizabeth Loades Grace Perry Noah Marshall |
| author_facet | Maria Elizabeth Loades Grace Perry Noah Marshall |
| author_sort | Maria Elizabeth Loades |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundPsychological distress becomes more common during adolescence, yet many young people struggle to access clinic-based mental health care. Digital, self-help single-session interventions (SSIs) could extend current provision and overcome barriers to help seeking.
ObjectiveThis study aims to pilot Project Care UK, a self-compassion–focused SSI, to examine its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy for UK adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years.
MethodsWe used a single-arm, within-subjects pre-post intervention program evaluation. Consenting participants completed a demographic survey and clinical measures at baseline. Self-assessments of hope, hopelessness, negative beliefs about self-compassion, and help seeking were measured immediately before and after the intervention. Acceptability and feasibility were measured after the intervention using the Program Feedback Scale and study completion metrics. Preliminary efficacy was evaluated using linear mixed-effects models. The study protocol was preregistered on the Open Science Framework before publication.
ResultsOf the 813 individuals who gave consent for the study, 714 (87.8%) initiated the preintervention assessment survey, 610 (75%) initiated the intervention, 341 (41.9%) initiated the Program Feedback Scale, and 329 (40.5%) initiated the postintervention assessment survey. The sample consisted of adolescents (mean age 15.38, SD 1.58 y) who were predominantly assigned female sex at birth, were White, and were nonheterosexual. Intervention completers widely endorsed the intervention as acceptable. Significant, favorable pre- and postintervention changes were observed across all outcome measures, including increased hope (Cohen d=0.72, P<.001), decreased hopelessness (Cohen d=–0.73, P<.001), and reduced negative beliefs about self-compassion (Cohen d=–0.64, P<.001). No significant changes were observed for help-seeking intentions.
ConclusionsAlthough not all participants completed the study, our findings show that recruiting adolescents in the United Kingdom is feasible; completers indicated that the intervention was acceptable, and they showed improvements in the proximal outcomes of hope, hopelessness, and beliefs about self-compassion. More extensive follow-up over time and comparator intervention analyses would allow more robust conclusions to be drawn. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-135c87532b7240bc83d467bef469bc2e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2368-7959 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Mental Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-135c87532b7240bc83d467bef469bc2e2025-08-20T02:07:52ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Mental Health2368-79592025-06-0112e7207710.2196/72077Investigating Project Care UK, a Web-Based Self-Help Single-Session Intervention for Youth Mental Health: Program EvaluationMaria Elizabeth Loadeshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0839-3190Grace Perryhttps://orcid.org/0009-0008-6405-7352Noah Marshallhttps://orcid.org/0009-0003-3625-3608 BackgroundPsychological distress becomes more common during adolescence, yet many young people struggle to access clinic-based mental health care. Digital, self-help single-session interventions (SSIs) could extend current provision and overcome barriers to help seeking. ObjectiveThis study aims to pilot Project Care UK, a self-compassion–focused SSI, to examine its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy for UK adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years. MethodsWe used a single-arm, within-subjects pre-post intervention program evaluation. Consenting participants completed a demographic survey and clinical measures at baseline. Self-assessments of hope, hopelessness, negative beliefs about self-compassion, and help seeking were measured immediately before and after the intervention. Acceptability and feasibility were measured after the intervention using the Program Feedback Scale and study completion metrics. Preliminary efficacy was evaluated using linear mixed-effects models. The study protocol was preregistered on the Open Science Framework before publication. ResultsOf the 813 individuals who gave consent for the study, 714 (87.8%) initiated the preintervention assessment survey, 610 (75%) initiated the intervention, 341 (41.9%) initiated the Program Feedback Scale, and 329 (40.5%) initiated the postintervention assessment survey. The sample consisted of adolescents (mean age 15.38, SD 1.58 y) who were predominantly assigned female sex at birth, were White, and were nonheterosexual. Intervention completers widely endorsed the intervention as acceptable. Significant, favorable pre- and postintervention changes were observed across all outcome measures, including increased hope (Cohen d=0.72, P<.001), decreased hopelessness (Cohen d=–0.73, P<.001), and reduced negative beliefs about self-compassion (Cohen d=–0.64, P<.001). No significant changes were observed for help-seeking intentions. ConclusionsAlthough not all participants completed the study, our findings show that recruiting adolescents in the United Kingdom is feasible; completers indicated that the intervention was acceptable, and they showed improvements in the proximal outcomes of hope, hopelessness, and beliefs about self-compassion. More extensive follow-up over time and comparator intervention analyses would allow more robust conclusions to be drawn.https://mental.jmir.org/2025/1/e72077 |
| spellingShingle | Maria Elizabeth Loades Grace Perry Noah Marshall Investigating Project Care UK, a Web-Based Self-Help Single-Session Intervention for Youth Mental Health: Program Evaluation JMIR Mental Health |
| title | Investigating Project Care UK, a Web-Based Self-Help Single-Session Intervention for Youth Mental Health: Program Evaluation |
| title_full | Investigating Project Care UK, a Web-Based Self-Help Single-Session Intervention for Youth Mental Health: Program Evaluation |
| title_fullStr | Investigating Project Care UK, a Web-Based Self-Help Single-Session Intervention for Youth Mental Health: Program Evaluation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating Project Care UK, a Web-Based Self-Help Single-Session Intervention for Youth Mental Health: Program Evaluation |
| title_short | Investigating Project Care UK, a Web-Based Self-Help Single-Session Intervention for Youth Mental Health: Program Evaluation |
| title_sort | investigating project care uk a web based self help single session intervention for youth mental health program evaluation |
| url | https://mental.jmir.org/2025/1/e72077 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mariaelizabethloades investigatingprojectcareukawebbasedselfhelpsinglesessioninterventionforyouthmentalhealthprogramevaluation AT graceperry investigatingprojectcareukawebbasedselfhelpsinglesessioninterventionforyouthmentalhealthprogramevaluation AT noahmarshall investigatingprojectcareukawebbasedselfhelpsinglesessioninterventionforyouthmentalhealthprogramevaluation |