Pilot testing the SUCCESS peer mentoring program for students with concussion: the role of personas in mobile technology development

College students with concussion experience academic, cognitive and psychosocial challenges, yet frequently lack supports necessary for successful reintegration into school. Success in College after Concussion with Effective Student Supports (SUCCESS) is a virtual peer mentoring program designed to provide education, support and connection through a mobile application. The purpose of this study was to describe use of personas as components of mobile app development and conduct preliminary testing of SUCCESS using personas. Personas were developed from case studies and portrayed by college students trained as fictitious mentees. Mentors were blinded to use of personas. Eleven mentors completed measures pre and post a 4-week mentoring cycle. Mentors and personas interacted in the app via chat, video calls and sharing of educational materials. Measures included the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS); PROMIS Self-Efficacy; Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS); and a series of focus groups. Mentors suggested improvements to resolve instability of video calls, expand educational materials to address psychosocial functioning, and add structure to the mentoring relationship. Some preferences around communication, like groups chats and emoji keyboards, were not able to be addressed. As expected, PCSS scores were stable. DASS score (p = .04), especially depression (p = .03), decreased. PROMIS scores showed a trend towards growth (p = .057), although were not statistically significant. Use of personas allowed technical challenges and program refinements to be addressed before including students with subacute concussion in testing. Although continued development will address enhancement of communication modalities preferred by students, future efficacy testing of SUCCESS is warranted. Personas can be useful for the development of mobile applications, particularly those that include interaction between users, allowing for testing of complex usage scenarios to improve app functionality.Students who have recovered from concussion may benefit from providing peer mentoring to students with more acute injuries.Mentoring programs should have a clear structure that considers relationship closure as much as relationship building. Mobile apps can deliver just-in-time prompts that support both of these activities.Postsecondary students express a preference for augmenting written app-based communication with digital images such as emojis and gifs, considering these important towards relationship-building in virtual spaces. Personas can be useful for the development of mobile applications, particularly those that include interaction between users, allowing for testing of complex usage scenarios to improve app functionality. Students who have recovered from concussion may benefit from providing peer mentoring to students with more acute injuries. Mentoring programs should have a clear structure that considers relationship closure as much as relationship building. Mobile apps can deliver just-in-time prompts that support both of these activities. Postsecondary students express a preference for augmenting written app-based communication with digital images such as emojis and gifs, considering these important towards relationship-building in virtual spaces.