Background

When students start college, their mental health can be affected by emotional, social, or academic pressures. Several studies have shown the impact of COVID-19 on college students’ mental health, including increased concentration issues, altered sleep and eating habits, social isolation, and concerns about academics and overall well-being. Mental health is vital for overall well-being and is a fundamental human right. It enables people to connect, function, cope, and thrive. Students may seek help online, but much of the information is unreliable. Technology offers solutions: over 10,000 mental health apps exist, yet many lack user-centered design, specialist support, and validation.

This project is aimed at the design, development, and evaluation of interactive technology, specifically mobile apps for supporting the mental health of college students. The Emotions&Care App is a mobile application designed to support college students’ mental health. Its main features include mental health screening, recommendations, daily notes, emotion tracking, appointment tracking with specialists, and a community. Emotions&Care also has a mental health specialist module, allowing specialists to monitor college students’ mental health.

Emotions&Care started in April 2023 as an idea of Pedro Guevara, a student from the Bachelor in Business Intelligence (FCAYS), for the Mobile app design contest to support mental health as part of the 10th Informatics Symposium (FCAYS). He invited  Mayra Selene Aviña Morales from the Bachelor in Communication Sciences and Arath Zahid Castro De Jesus from the Bachelor in Psychology. Together with  Xochitl Hernández González and Brenda Janeth Ramírez Flores, students from Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores San Felipe del Progreso and participants of the Verano Delfin 2023 in our lab, designed the first version of Emotions&Care, which resulted in a conference publication. 

Now, we are in the third iteration, and we are planning to deploy Emotions&Care in our university. If you are interested in being part of this project, please visit our join us page.