NCT03412461

Brief Summary

Background: Seventy percent of lifetime cases of mental illness emerge prior to age 24. While early detection and intervention can address approximately 70% of child and youth cases of mental health concerns, the majority of youth with mental health concerns do not receive the services they need. Objective: This project will evaluate the impact of Thought Spot upon intentions and self-efficacy in help-seeking for mental health concerns among transition aged youth (youth aged 17-29) enrolled full-time or part-time at a college or university in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), compared with a control group (who receive usual care; resource pamphlet). Methods: A two-group partially blinded pre-post randomized controlled study will be done to evaluate the impact of the digital platform, Thought Spot, on transition-aged youths' intentions to help-seek. Measurements will be taken over a 6 month period: baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. 472 participants who are enrolled part-time or full-time at one of 3 participating post-secondary institutions (George Brown College, Ryerson University, University of Toronto) who are interested in maintaining or managing their mental health will be recruited and randomized to the intervention arm or the control arm. The intervention group participants will have access to the Thought Spot platform. The control group participants will receive a pamphlet that outlines mental health services and wellness services across the GTA. Both groups will also have access to usual care. Results: The investigators are testing the hypothesis that 1) transition-aged youth who receive the intervention will show a greater improvement in intentions and self-efficacy in help-seeking for mental health concerns than those who are allocated to the control group; and 2) participants in the intervention arm will also show greater improvements in health literacy, including awareness of available services and supports, increased self-efficacy in managing their mental health concerns, and a reduction in mental health stigma, compared to the control arm.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
481

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Mar 2018

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

November 3, 2017

Completed
3 months until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

January 26, 2018

Completed
2 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

March 13, 2018

Completed
1.3 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

June 30, 2019

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

June 30, 2019

Completed
Last Updated

December 9, 2019

Status Verified

December 1, 2019

Enrollment Period

1.3 years

First QC Date

November 3, 2017

Last Update Submit

December 6, 2019

Conditions

AdolescentMental Health Wellness 1Self EfficacyStigma, Social

Keywords

Transition-aged youthMental HealthAccessibility

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • The General Help Seeking Questionnaire (change over 6 month trial period)

    The General Help Seeking Questionnaire is used to measure intentions to seek help from different sources. Future help-seeking intentions are measured by listing a number of potential help sources and asking participants to indicate how likely it is that they would seek help from that source for a specified problem on a seven-point scale ranging from (1) extremely unlikely to seek help to (7) extremely likely to seek help. Higher scores indicate higher intentions for help-seeking. The GHSQ items are scored as a single scale that includes all specific help source options for the specified problem.

    This scale will be administered at baseline, 3 month and 6 month mark.

Secondary Outcomes (4)

  • Actual Help Seeking Questionnaire (AHSQ)

    This scale will be administered at baseline, 3 month and 6 month mark.

  • Attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help (ATSPPH-SF)

    This scale will be administered at baseline, 3 month and 6 month mark.

  • Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale (SSOSH)

    This scale will be administered at baseline, 3 month and 6 month mark.

  • Youth Efficacy/Empowerment Scale - Mental Health (YES-MH)

    This scale will be administered at baseline, 3 month and 6 month mark.

Study Arms (2)

Thought Spot Application

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants randomly assigned to the experimental arm will have access to the Thought Spot application. The Thought Spot application is a mobile app and website. This digital platform was designed and produced in partnership with transition aged youth in post-secondary education. The platform maps out wellness and mental health services across the Greater Toronto Area. This group will continue to have access to usual care.

Other: Thought Spot

Resource pamphlet

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants randomly assigned to the active comparator will receive a pamphlet that outlines mental health services and wellness services across the Greater Toronto Area. This group will continue to have access to usual care.

Other: Resource Pamphlet

Interventions

Thought SpotOTHER

Thought Spot is a mobile app and website. This digital platform was designed and produced in partnership with transition aged youth in post-secondary education. The platform maps out wellness and mental health services across the Greater Toronto Area.

Thought Spot Application
Resource PamphletOTHER

The resource pamphlet that participants will be given will include information on the mental health and wellness services available at their respective post-secondary institution.

Resource pamphlet

Eligibility Criteria

Age17 Years - 29 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsChild (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • Aged 17-29 years, inclusive.
  • Be enrolled in full-time or part-time studies at one of the participating postsecondary institutions: University of Toronto (St. George and Scarborough campuses), Ryerson University, and George Brown College (all campuses).
  • All participants must have functional competency in English.
  • Participants must have access to digital devices (smartphone or desktop) compatible with the Thought Spot digital platform.

You may not qualify if:

  • Individuals who do not have access to a functional mobile device or computer.
  • Individuals who are experiencing active suicidality.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2C4, Canada

Location

Related Publications (3)

  • Wong HW, Lo B, Shi J, Hollenberg E, Abi-Jaoude A, Johnson A, Chaim G, Cleverley K, Henderson J, Levinson A, Robb J, Voineskos A, Wiljer D. Postsecondary Student Engagement With a Mental Health App and Online Platform (Thought Spot): Qualitative Study of User Experience. JMIR Ment Health. 2021 Apr 2;8(4):e23447. doi: 10.2196/23447.

    PMID: 33797395DERIVED

  • Wiljer D, Shi J, Lo B, Sanches M, Hollenberg E, Johnson A, Abi-Jaoude A, Chaim G, Cleverley K, Henderson J, Isaranuwatchai W, Levinson A, Robb J, Wong HW, Voineskos A. Effects of a Mobile and Web App (Thought Spot) on Mental Health Help-Seeking Among College and University Students: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2020 Oct 30;22(10):e20790. doi: 10.2196/20790.

    PMID: 33124984DERIVED

  • Kaur A, Isaranuwatchai W, Jaffer A, Ferguson G, Abi-Jaoude A, Johnson A, Hollenberg E, Wiljer D. A Web- and Mobile-Based Map of Mental Health Resources for Postsecondary Students (Thought Spot): Protocol for an Economic Evaluation. JMIR Res Protoc. 2018 Mar 29;7(3):e83. doi: 10.2196/resprot.9478.

    PMID: 29599106DERIVED

Related Links

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Social StigmaPsychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Social BehaviorBehaviorPersonal Satisfaction

Study Officials

  • David Wiljer, PhD

    Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
Masking Details
To maintain partial blindness, researchers administering surveys will not be aware of the group allocation of participants. A researcher who will not be in contact with participants will conduct the randomization. Recruitment materials do not include any reference to the intervention (Thought Spot) and therefore, mitigates any potential demand characteristics among participants
Purpose
OTHER
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: Students will be recruited and randomized to the intervention arm or the control arm. The intervention group participants will have access to the Thought Spot platform. The control group participants will receive a pamphlet that outlines mental health services and wellness services across the GTA. Both groups will also have access to usual care.
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

November 3, 2017

First Posted

January 26, 2018

Study Start

March 13, 2018

Primary Completion

June 30, 2019

Study Completion

June 30, 2019

Last Updated

December 9, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-12

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

Locations

CA(1)