CaknaMinda: An Educator-Centred Mobile App for Early Screening of Mental Health and Schizophrenia Risks

This project introduces CaknaMinda, an educator-centred mobile application designed to assist educators in the early-stage screening of students at risk of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, stress, and schizophrenia. The app addresses the gap in mental health literacy and early detection capability within educational settings by providing two key functions: (1) enhancing educators’ understanding of mental health through guided literacy modules, and (2) offering a structured digital platform for preliminary mental health assessments including risks relating to schizophrenia. The system integrates a user-friendly interface and automated screening algorithm, digitalizing assessments such as the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) and a schizophrenia risk questionnaire. Educators can share these digital assessments with students, and the app automatically processes responses to generate clear reports identifying potential risk levels and provide guided actions for seeking treatment. Evaluation with 84 respondents (educators and students) using a ten-item Likert-scale questionnaire produced very high mean scores for both mental health literacy (M = 4.30, SD = 0.74) and application usability (M = 4.27, SD = 0.69), reflecting strong acceptance and perceived usefulness for the app. By integrating educator-led assessment with a digitalized approach, CaknaMinda offers a relevant solution to early mental health intervention across educational settings in Malaysia.

mental health screening, early intervention, DASS, schizophrenia

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