The MindKind Study

The MindKind Study is assessing the feasibility of using smartphones to study mental health in young people and testing ways to build a sustainable, inclusive, responsible and fair mental health databank.

While an estimated 14-20% of young adults experience mental health conditions worldwide, the best strategies for prevention and management are not fully understood. The ubiquity of smartphone use among young people makes them excellent candidates for collecting data about lived experiences and their relationships to mental health. However, not much is known about the factors affecting young peoples’ willingness to share information about their mental health.

The MindKind Study aims to understand the data governance and engagement strategies influencing young peoples’ (aged 16-24) participation in app-based studies of mental health. We employ a mixed methods approach, pairing qualitative data to understand the preferences, concerns and expectations of young people with respect to remote mental health research, with a pilot app-based study to understand participants’ engagement in app-based mental health research.

This pilot study is being conducted in India, South Africa and the United Kingdom in collaboration with researchers in each of these countries as well as the US and was commissioned by the Wellcome Trust.

Download the MindKind Report: https://wellcome.org/reports/mindkind-global-youth-data 

Full study protocol available here: https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/6-275/v2

MindKind Study website: mindkindstudy.org

Watch the MindKind Launch Meeting