Study On Let's Talk

NCT07246083 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: NUS-IRB-2025-151
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 170
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

The goal of this experience sampling method study is to understand the effectiveness and user experience of the 'let's talk' forum-- a public platform designed by the Ministry of Health Office for Healthcare Transformation (MOHT) to provide just-in-time digital mental health support for youths. 'Let's Talk' is a joint initiative by MOHT, Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), National Council of Social Service (NCSS), and the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in Singapore. Participants who meet the eligibility criteria (based on DASS-21 cutoff scores) will be invited to participate in Phase 2, which involves a 21-day intervention period involving the 'let's talk' forum. The experience sampling protocol involves sending prompts at regular intervals and monitoring anxiety levels.

Conditions

Mental Health Help-Seeking

Keywords

digital mental health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• Mental health symptoms: Measured through the 21-item Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21)

  The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 Items (DASS-21) is a set of three self-report scales designed to measure the emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. Each of the three DASS-21 scales contains 7 items, divided into subscales with similar content. The depression scale assesses dysphoria, hopelessness, devaluation of life, self-deprecation, lack of interest / involvement, anhedonia and inertia. The anxiety scale assesses autonomic arousal, skeletal muscle effects, situational anxiety, and subjective experience of anxious affect. The stress scale is sensitive to levels of chronic non-specific arousal. It assesses difficulty relaxing, nervous arousal, and being easily upset / agitated, irritable / over-reactive and impatient. Scores for depression, anxiety and stress

  Screening

• Awareness, views and prior usage of mental health services

  As part of this series of questions, they will be asked to complete the 10-item Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale - Short Form (ATSPPH-SF). The ATSPPH-SF is a 10-item measure used to assess ATSPPH on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 to 3. Higher total score indicates more positive ATSPPH and is associated with lower levels of stigma against mental illness (Elahi et al., 2008). The ATSPPH-SF was reported to have unidimensional structure with Cronbach's alpha values of 0.84. Construct validity was reported to be 0.87, which was estimated by correlating it with the longer version (Fischer \& Farina, 1995).

  Screening, 4 weeks after baseline, 8 weeks after baseline

• Attitudes, knowledge and behaviors regarding mental health and help-seeking

  The Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) is a 35-item, scale-based measure of knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management or prevention (Jorm et al., 1997; O'Connor \& Casey, 2015). The MHLS assesses six attributes of mental health literacy.

  Baseline, 4 weeks after baseline, 8 weeks after baseline

• STAI Rating

  The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) 6-item form is a shortened version of the original STAI, developed by Marteau and Bekker in 1992, which uses six items to measure state anxiety (how a person feels at the moment) while reducing respondent burden. This shorter scale maintains acceptable reliability and validity, produces scores comparable to the full-form, and is sensitive to fluctuations in anxiety.

  Daily over 21 days

• Emotion Regulation

  The Brief-COPE is a 28 item self-report questionnaire designed to measure effective and ineffective ways to cope with a stressful life event.

  4 weeks after baseline, 8 weeks after baseline

• Attitudes, knowledge and behaviors regarding mental health and help-seeking

  MHSAS is a survey about mental health seeking attitudes, using a seven-point scale. It has nine items and produces a single mean score.

  Baseline, 4 weeks after baseline, 8 weeks after baseline

• Emotion regulation

  DERS-18 is a brief version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, with 18 items, and is a brief version of the original 36 item DERS.

  4 weeks after baseline, 8 weeks after baseline

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Sense of isolation/belonging using UBC-SSCS

  Baseline, 4 weeks after baseline, 8 weeks after baseline

• Feedback on the let's talk forum

  4 weeks after baseline, 8 weeks after baseline

Study Arms (1)

ESM

EXPERIMENTAL

During the 21-day experience sampling period, prompts will be sent at regular intervals during the waking hours of the day (approx 3-4 times in a day).These prompts will be delivered through participants' own mobile devices (e.g. through a WhatsApp, Facebook, or Telegram chatbot). At each prompt, participants will be asked to complete the 6-item state scale of the short-form Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) asking participants how calm, tense, upset, relaxed, content, and worried they feel (rating of 1='not at all' and 4='very much'). If participants report feeling 'moderately' or 'very much' anxious, they will then receive one of the following prompts (at random): (a) instructions to carry out an activity on the Let's Talk site (e.g., post a question to a therapist, post a question to peers, read prior responses), or (b) no further prompt. 30 minutes later, they will then be asked again: (i) for their STAI ratings, and (ii) whether they had used the Let's Talk site.

Behavioral: let's talk forum

Interventions

let's talk forum BEHAVIORAL

The platform also features an "Ask-a-Therapist" function, allowing users to anonymously pose questions to a panel of verified psychotherapists and receive a response within 24 hours. As such, Let's Talk provides a valuable case study to: * assess the real-time impact of digital peer support and professional input, and * explore how anonymous online interactions may support emotion regulation and enhance well-being

ESM

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Aged between 18-25 years if they are a student at the National University of Singapore (NUS); 21-25 years old if they are not a student at NUS
• Must have lived in SG for at least 2 years
• Have not received a formal diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder
• Not currently receiving any form of mental health treatment (e.g., counselling)
• \- Partiicpants from Phase 1 whose DASS-21 scores are at least moderate for any one of the following sub scales (cut off of 14 for depression, 10 for anxiety, and 19 for stress).
• Existing befrienders or peer supporters on the let's talk site (aged 21-80)
• Agree to audio and video recording of FGD
• Individuals who have completed phase 2

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Centre for Evidence and Implementation Singapore Ltd: lead
• MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation (MOHT), Singapore: collaborator

Study Sites (2)

National University of Singapore

Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Location

National University of Singapore

Singapore, Singapore

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Saw YE, Tan EY, Liu JS, Liu JC. Predicting Public Uptake of Digital Contact Tracing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results From a Nationwide Survey in Singapore. J Med Internet Res. 2021 Feb 3;23(2):e24730. doi: 10.2196/24730.

  PMID: 33465034 BACKGROUND

• Tan EY, Wee RR, Saw YE, Heng KJ, Chin JW, Tong EM, Liu JC. Tracking Private WhatsApp Discourse About COVID-19 in Singapore: Longitudinal Infodemiology Study. J Med Internet Res. 2021 Dec 23;23(12):e34218. doi: 10.2196/34218.

  PMID: 34881720 BACKGROUND

• Barsova T, Cheong ZG, Mak AR, Liu JC. Predicting Psychological Symptoms When Facebook's Digital Well-being Features Are Used: Cross-sectional Survey Study. JMIR Form Res. 2022 Aug 29;6(8):e39387. doi: 10.2196/39387.

  PMID: 36036971 BACKGROUND

• Erdembileg, S., Asplund, C. L., & Liu, J. C. J. (in preparation). Engagement with Taylor Swift's music and social media content predicts mental health outcomes in youths: Cross-sectional survey study.

  BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Jean Liu

  Centre for Evidence and Implementation

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Director

Model Details: This intervention has several components: Experience sampling: During the 21-day experience sampling period, prompts will be sent at regular intervals during the waking hours of the day (approx 3-4 times in a day).These prompts will be delivered through participants' own mobile devices (e.g. through a WhatsApp, Facebook, or Telegram chatbot). Monitoring: At each prompt, participants will be asked to complete the 6-item state scale of the short-form Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) asking participants how calm, tense, upset, relaxed, content, and worried they feel (rating of 1='not at all' and 4='very much'). If participants report feeling 'moderately' or 'very much' anxious, they will then receive one of the following prompts (at random): (a) instructions to carry out an activity on the Let's Talk site (e.g., post a question to a therapist, post a question to peers, read prior responses), or (b) no further prompt. 30 minutes later, they will then be asked again: (

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 14, 2025
• First Posted: November 24, 2025
• Study Start: December 18, 2025
• Primary Completion: March 1, 2026
• Study Completion: March 1, 2026
• Last Updated: January 15, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

SG (2)