The Wellness Hub App

Name: The Wellness Hub App
Author: Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Health System

DOCUMENTED

Published in academic literature

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App Summary

The Wellness Hub App is a resilience-building tool that uses the Mount Sinai Resilience Scale to guide users through educational modules and evidence-based activities designed to enhance well-being. An evaluation (N=231) of its initial deployment among healthcare workers indicated that while over half of users demonstrated a need for psychological support, approximately 55% re-engaged with the app's features after the first use. The associated research concludes that the app is a promising proof of concept and a novel tool for offering broad mental health support to communities and employees.

App Screenshots

Detailed Description

Functionality & Mechanism

Developed by the Mount Sinai Center for Stress, Resilience and Personal Growth, this app delivers a self-guided, five-week resilience-building program. The system onboards participants through a consent process and a baseline administration of the Mount Sinai Resilience Scale. It then presents five sequential, week-long modules, each targeting a specific resilience factor. Modules integrate psychoeducational video and written content with interactive journaling features and evidence-based activities, which can be scheduled via user-set reminders to encourage regular engagement.

Evidence & Research Context

An evaluation study (N=231) documented the app's initial implementation and usage patterns among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Baseline assessments captured within the app indicated that over half of the initial users demonstrated a need for support in at least one psychological area.
Post-launch data showed a 55% user re-engagement rate after the first session, with an average of four app openings per person.
The app's integrated assessment tool, the Mount Sinai Resilience Scale, has undergone separate psychometric validation.

Intended Use & Scope

This app is designed as a scalable psychoeducational tool to support the mental well-being and resilience of employee populations, particularly those in high-stress professions. It functions as an adjunct resource for personal growth and is not a substitute for clinical diagnosis or formal mental health treatment. Individuals experiencing significant psychological distress should consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Studies & Publications

1 publication

Peer-reviewed research associated with this app.

Development/Design Paper

A resilience-building app to support the mental health of health care workers in the COVID-19 era: Design process, distribution, and evaluation

Golden et al. (2021) · JMIR Formative Research

Describes the research-driven development of this app

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased strain on health care systems and negative psychological effects on health care workers (HCWs). This is anticipated to result in long-term negative mental health effects on the population, with HCWs representing a particularly vulnerable group. The scope of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates the development of a scalable mental health platform to provide services to large numbers of at-risk or affected individuals. The Mount Sinai Health System in New York City was at the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States. Objective The Center for Stress, Resilience, and Personal Growth (CSRPG) was created to address the current and anticipated psychological impact of the pandemic on the HCWs in the health system. The mission of the Center is to support the resilience and mental health of employees through educational offerings, outreach, and clinical care. Our aim was to build a mobile app to support the newly founded Center in its mission. Methods We built the app as a standalone digital platform that hosts a suite of tools that users can interact with on a daily basis. With consideration for the Center's aims, we determined the overall vision, initiatives, and goals for the Wellness Hub app, followed by specific milestone tasks and deliverables for development. We defined the app's primary features based on the mental health assessment and needs of HCWs. Feature definition was informed by the results of a resilience survey widely distributed to Mount Sinai HCWs and by the resources offered at CSRPG, including workshop content. Results We launched our app over the course of two phases, the first phase being a "soft" launch and the second being a broader launch to all of Mount Sinai. Of the 231 HCWs who downloaded the app, 173 (74.9%) completed our baseline assessment of all mental health screeners in the app. Results from the baseline assessment show that more than half of the users demonstrate a need for support in at least one psychological area. As of 3 months after the Phase 2 launch, approximately 55% of users re-entered the app after their first opening to explore additional features, with an average of 4 app openings per person. Conclusions To address the mental health needs of HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wellness Hub app was built and deployed throughout the Mount Sinai Health System. To our knowledge, this is the first resilience app of its kind. The Wellness Hub app is a promising proof of concept, with room to grow, for those who wish to build a secure mobile health app to support their employees, communities, or others in managing and improving mental and physical well-being. It is a novel tool offering mental health support broadly.