UNICALM: a mobile application-based stress management for university students

Stress is a common issue among university students, affecting their academic performance and well-being. This project focuses on developing a stress management mobile application for university students. University students often struggle with stress due to a lack of awareness about stress. Without a solid understanding of stress awareness, such as sources of stress and stress management, people are more likely to have stress. The other people might struggle with a lack of coping mechanisms. They tend to ignore the bad outcomes of stress because they do not get proper treatment. The project implements cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) model features, an approach for a mental health issue, including anxiety and depression. The methodology for developing this application follows Rapid Application Development (RAD). The application is evaluated using the System Usability Scale (SUS). It is also evaluated using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), which also consists of a 10-questionnaire that is widely used for measuring the perception of stress. The study had been conducted with 26 participants among UiTM Jasin students. The evaluation results indicated that the application received a high usability score, with an average SUS score of 84.23. Additionally, there was a low perceived stress level among participants, with an average PSS score of 22.15. These findings highlight the potential of the application as a valuable tool for stress management in the academic environment. Lastly, future enhancements in this project have been identified that will expand the range of CBT techniques and resources available within the app to provide a more comprehensive stress management toolkit and add multiple language options to a diverse population