The Use of Task Shifting to Improve Treatment Engagement in an Internet-Based Mindfulness Intervention Among Chinese University Students: Randomized Controlled Trial
JMIR Formative Research August 28, 2023 Marcus Rodriguez, Tory A Eisenlohr-Moul, Jared Weisman et al.
Adding brief weekly support from trained volunteer peer counselors to a four-week internet-based mindfulness intervention improved treatment engagement and mental health outcomes among Chinese university students with at least mild stress, anxiety, or depression. Participants receiving peer support were more likely to complete posttreatment assessments (59% vs 26%) and completed a higher percentage of the course (72.6% vs 50.7%). Both groups showed significant pre-post improvements in mindfulness, depression, anxiety, and stress, but the peer-supported group reported greater reductions in daily stress and depression. The authors propose that task-shifting mental health support to nonspecialists can make scalable, low-cost internet interventions more effective.