Gather.Town Gaming for Pregnant Adolescents With Depression Literacy

NCT06468020 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: The Gather.town gaming
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 64
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Aim The study seeks to:

1. 1.To assess the effect of the Gather.town gaming intervention on promoting depression literacy among pregnant adolescents in Thailand.
2. 2.To compare the depression literacy before and after receiving the Gather.town gaming intervention in the experimental group.

Conditions

Gamification

Keywords

Pregnant adolescents; Depression literacy; Game-based learning; Gather.town; Digital mental health intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change from baseline in the knowledge of depression, as measured by a true or false questionnaire of the Depression Literacy Questionnaire (D-Lit)

  Scores are measured using a true or false questionnaire, with one point awarded for each correct answer. The score ranges from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater knowledge.

  Baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at the 1-month and 3-month follow-ups

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change from baseline in mental distress levels, as measured by the Likert scale of the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5)

  Baseline, immediately, and after the intervention

• Change from baseline in depression levels, as measured by the Likert scale of The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)

  Baseline, immediately, and after the intervention

• To measure the usability of the Gather.town platform, as measured by the Likert scale of the System Usability Scale (SUS)

  immediately after the intervention

Study Arms (2)

The Gather.town gaming intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

The Gather.town intervention, based on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), was delivered over four weeks with two 40-50-minute sessions per week, totaling eight sessions. Conducted via laptops or desktops at antenatal care clinics, the program began with baseline assessments and distribution of a booklet. Participants were introduced to the Gather.town platform. Each session included a homework review (except Sessions 1 and 8), a brief educational video (excluding Session 2), and an interactive game guided by the avatar "Sati." Session 2 focused on scenario analysis to link thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. All sessions ended with debriefing, homework, and written reflection. Sessions 5 and 6 featured virtual relaxation practices. The final session included post-assessments and a closing activity. Participants also received routine antenatal care throughout.

Other: The Gather.town gaming intervention

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in the control group will receive a booklet and routine care that is regularly available in the health system for both adult and adolescent pregnant women. Antenatal care is provided by nurses in the antenatal care unit and includes health assessments and educational classes covering topics such as nutrition, exercise, sexual intercourse, fetal movement monitoring, childbirth preparation, and breastfeeding. Participants are expected to attend at least five antenatal visits throughout their pregnancy: the first visit should occur before 12 weeks of gestation, with subsequent visits at 18, 26, 32, and 38 weeks.

Interventions

The Gather.town gaming intervention OTHER

The online game-based learning intervention (oGBL): The investigator will develop the oGBL intervention based on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), which consists of 8 sessions and plays a game through the Gather.Town platform.

The Gather.town gaming intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 15 Years - 19 Years
• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• First-time pregnant adolescents aged 15-19 years with gestational ages not exceeding 21 weeks.
• Being able to read Thai and use a computer or laptop to operate the intervention materials.

You may not qualify if:

• Being unwilling to participate in this study.
• Being unable to adhere to the entire intervention process or follow-up.
• Self-reported psychiatric diagnosis of any severe mental illnesses, i.e., major depression, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Taiwan University: lead

Study Officials

• Chotip Phonkusol

  National Taiwan University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Chotip Phonkusol

CONTACT

0905085846; d10426011@ntu.edu.tw

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: SEQUENTIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 7, 2024
• First Posted: June 21, 2024
• Study Start: June 1, 2025
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Last Updated: May 16, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL
• Time Frame: Starting in June 2025
• Access Criteria: The information on the study protocol will be shared with other researchers.