Introduction: Medical students are a population at increased risk for anxiety due to their demanding schedule and concerns about potential stigmatization, which often leads to discouragement when seeking help. COVID-19 pandemic has been reported to worsen this issue by restricting social interaction and mobility. To address this problem, an innovative method known as Asynchronous Digital Cognitive Education GAMA-AIMS (DCE GAMA-AIMS) has been introduced. Compared to traditional therapy, this modality can be accessed independently without the guidance of a therapist.
Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of DCE GAMA-AIMS in reducing anxiety scores compared to guided brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (guided bCBT).
Methods: A non-blinding RCT was conducted on 66 medical students. The participants were equally divided into two groups, namely intervention and control. The intervention group was given DCE GAMA-AIMS, while the control was administered with guided bCBT. The data obtained were analyzed using independent t-test and ANOVAs.
Results: The application had a significant effect on reducing anxiety scores from the 2nd week (M TMAS = 18) to the 8th week (M TMAS = 13). A faster and more significant improvement was observed in the intervention group from the 1st to the 2nd week compared to the control, which began to improve in the 4th week. Furthermore, the intervention group had larger effect sizes (1.32) compared to the control (0.79) from the 1st to 8th week.
Conclusion: Asynchronous DCE GAMA-AIMS and guided bCBT could reduce TMAS scores in medical students with anxiety, but DCE GAMA-AIMS yielded a greater effect size.
Keywords: Medical students; anxiety; brief CBT; mobile application; psychotherapy.