Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: May 3, 2023
Open Peer Review Period: May 3, 2023 - Jun 28, 2023
Date Accepted: Aug 30, 2023
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Study protocol of a digital mental health intervention, randomised control trial: effectiveness of Wellness Together Canada (WTC) portal in altering trajectories of mental health in Canada
ABSTRACT
Background:
Wellness Together Canada Portal (www.wellnesstogether.ca). Wellness Together Canada (WTC) was created in response to an unprecedented rise in mental health and substance use concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with funding from the Government of Canada. It is a mental health and substance use website to support people across Canada, providing digital interventions and services at no cost. Two million people have visited the WTC portal over one year since its launch; however, rigorous evaluation of this potential solution to accessing mental health care during and after the COVID-19 pandemic is urgently required.
Objective:
To evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the Wellness Together Portal by conducting a randomized trial.
Methods:
The Let’s Act on Mental Health study is designed as a longitudinal randomized control trial (RCT), fully remote, equally randomized [1:1], double-blind, alternative intervention-controlled in the parallel group to conduct between Oct-April 2023 with a prospective follow-up study period of 26-weeks. This trial will evaluate whether digital intervention like WTC improves population mental health trajectories over time. The level of change in anxiety from W0 to W26 (Baseline to Final) over 6 months’ time-period is the primary trajectory of concern for mental health in the study.
Results:
This study is approved by the Research Ethics Board (REB) of CAMH (REB reference no:
Conclusions:
This initiative provides a unique opportunity to match people’s specific unmet mental health and substance use needs to evidence-based digital interventions. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov
Citation
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Copyright
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