JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Transitional-aged youth have a high burden of mental health difficulties in Canada with Indigenous youth, in particular, experiencing additional circumstances that challenge their wellbeing. Mobile health (mHealth) approaches hold promise for supporting individuals in areas with less access to services such as Northwestern Ontario.

Objective:

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the JoyPopTM app in increasing emotion regulation skills for Indigenous transitional-aged youth (18-25 years) on a waitlist for mental health services when compared with usual practice (UP). The secondary objectives are to (1) Evaluate the impact of the app on general mental health symptoms and treatment readiness; and (2) Evaluate whether using the app is associated with a reduction in the use (and therefore cost) of other services while one is waiting for mental health services.

Methods:

The study is a pragmatic, parallel-arm randomized controlled superiority trial design spanning a 4-week period. All participants will receive usual practice (UP) which involves waitlist monitoring practices at the study site, which include regular check-in phone calls to obtain any updates regarding functioning. Participants will be allocated to the intervention (JoyPopTM + UP) or control (UP) condition in a 1:1 ratio using stratified block randomization. Participants will complete self-report measures of emotion regulation (primary outcome), mental health, treatment readiness, and service use during three assessments (baseline, second [after 2 weeks], and third [after 4 weeks]).

Results:

Recruitment began September 1, 2023, and is ongoing. Two participants have completed the study.

Conclusions:

This study will assess whether the JoyPopTM app is effective for Indigenous transitional-aged youth on a waitlist for mental health services. Positive findings may support integration of the app into mental health services as a waitlist management tool. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05991154