Development of the Heal Jai Application in Promoting Mental Health among Higher Education Students

Abstract

This action research aimed to develop and evaluate the “Heal Jai” application to promote mental health among higher education students. The study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 analyzed problems and needs through focus group discussions with 12 students and in-depth interviews with 5 advisors, with data analyzed using content analysis. Phase 2 focused on developing and assessing the quality of the application among 10 university students. Phase 3 evaluated the application’s effectiveness with a sample of 88 undergraduate students. Research instruments included the Mental Health Literacy Scale, Resilience Questionnaire, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. All instruments were validated by three experts, with an Index of Item-Objective Congruence of .67–1.00 and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of .72, .77, and .75, respectively. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-tests.

Results revealed that students faced mental health problems and lacked adequate information and understanding, highlighting the need for accessible support services. The Heal Jai application was developed with key features including mental health assessment, health promotion activities, counseling appointments, and service access channels. The application’s overall quality was rated at a good level ( = 4.46, SD = 0.28). Effectiveness testing showed that users had significantly higher mean scores of mental health literacy and resilience quotient compared to the control group (t = 3.43, p = .028; t = 2.21, p = .034). After using the application, participants’ scores in these two areas also increased significantly (t = 3.47, p = .024; t = 6.82, p < .001). However, no significant difference was found in self-esteem between groups (p = .228).