RecruitingNot ApplicableNCT07278765

QT-Digital Mental Health Engagement Study

Optimizing Engagement With Digital Mental Health Services Among Sexual And Gender Minority Consumers

Sponsor

University of Washington

Enrollment

300 participants

Start Date

Mar 12, 2026

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Conditions

Engagement, Patient

Summary

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations are disproportionately impacted by mental health concerns relative to their heterosexual and cisgender peers. Despite high need, SGM populations continue to report unmet mental health needs because they cannot or do not access mental health services. Digital Mental Health (DMH) services have been recognized as feasible, economical, and effective options to broaden the availability of mental health care to consumers who face barriers to mental health help-seeking. SGM consumers cite a preference for DMH care and this delivery format holds promise to attend to major mental health care access barriers experienced by this consumer group. Yet, the availability of DMH services tailored to the needs of SGM consumers is limited, and a dearth of research examines SGM populations' actual engagement with DMH services. A potential solution to fully understand how SGM populations utilize DMH services would be to characterize their engagement within a natural setting. Leveraging an established partnership with Mental Health America (MHA), a non-profit mental health advocacy group offering free, evidence-based screenings and self-guided DMH resources, this study will follow a large, naturalistic sample of SGM DMH consumers with the aim to test tailored engagement strategies with SGM DMH consumers using a micro-randomized trial (MRT) design. Results of this study will inform if delivering engagement strategies can meaningfully increase initial and sustained engagement with MHA resources and which types of strategies, specifically, work best for which users.

Eligibility

Min Age: 14 Years

Inclusion Criteria4

Users of the Mental Health America (MHA) website engaging from Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in the United States
Completed the PHQ-9 depression screener in English
Answered MHA's standard demographic questions that identify users as age 14 and older
Answered MHA's standard demographic questions that identify users as LGBTQ+.

Exclusion Criteria4

IP addresses outside of the United States
Do not answer MHA's standard demographic questions
Answered MHA's standard demographic questions that identify users as age 13 and younger
Answered MHA's standard demographic questions that identify users as not LGBTQ+.

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Interventions

BEHAVIORALHAPA Engagement Strategies

Participants will be delivered HAPA-based engagement strategies directly on the MHA website, including on the Results page and targeted Next Steps resource page. The engagement strategies target HAPA behavioral determinants: outcome expectancy, self-efficacy, perceived risk, and barriers and resources. On the Results page, these engagement strategies will be displayed as inline messages designed to quickly reinforce a HAPA behavioral determinant before users choose their Next Steps. On the Next Steps resource page, these HAPA-based engagement strategies will be displayed as inline cards embedded directly within the page layout.