Validation of the Emotions&Care App: A Mobile Application for Supporting Mental Health of College Students

Abstract

College students have experienced an increment in mental health issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When students start college, their mental health can be affected by emotional, social, or academic requirements. It is essential to provide tools for supporting the mental health of this population. In this paper, we present the validation of the Emotions&Care app, a mobile application for supporting the mental health of college students. Emotions&Care follows a user-centered design and provides mental health screening and monitoring. We used gamification techniques to motivate the sustained use of the app. Emotions&Care also allows mental health specialists to monitor college students’ mental health by tracking daily notes and emotions and by controlling appointments. We validated Emotions&Care with eleven college students and four mental health specialists. Our results indicate that Emotions&Care has the potential to provide college students with mental health screening and monitoring; however, several design issues should be addressed to ensure its extended-term use.

Keywords

• College students
• Mental health
• Mobile app