Empowering international students to manage suicide risk better: A randomised controlled trial of the Bud App
1.30-2.00pm
Dr Samuel McKay, Centre for Youth Mental Health (Orygen), University of Melbourne
International students experience disproportionately high rates of psychological distress and suicide risk, yet face barriers to accessing culturally responsive support. Despite this vulnerability, no evidence-based suicide prevention programs have been specifically designed for this group.
This study evaluates the effectiveness, acceptability, engagement, and safety of the Bud app, a co-designed digital suicide prevention intervention for international students. Bud provides mood tracking, interactive self-guided tools based on CBT and DBT, personal stories from peers, and a brief suicide prevention skills module to support both self-care and peer assistance.
The Bud trial is an open-label, parallel-group randomised controlled trial with an internal pilot phase. A sample 302 international students enrolled at tertiary institutions is targeted; to date, 260 participants have been recruited. Participants are randomised to either the Bud app or an active control condition (mental health fact sheets) for four weeks. Assessments are conducted at baseline, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks. The primary outcome is psychological distress (K10). Secondary outcomes include suicidal ideation, help-seeking intentions, perceived burdensomeness, belonging, emotion regulation, and mental health literacy. Acceptability is measured via uMARS, and engagement via in-app metrics. Generalised linear mixed models (GLMMs) will test Group × Time effects.
Preliminary results from 260 participants indicate feasibility benchmarks have been achieved, with strong recruitment and retention rates. Analyses will report changes in psychological distress and secondary outcomes across trial arms, alongside descriptive data on app engagement and acceptability.
This trial provides the first RCT evidence for a culturally responsive suicide prevention tool designed with and for international students. If effective, Bud has potential as a scalable digital intervention to enhance protective factors, reduce distress and suicidality, and address inequities faced by diverse student populations.