Recruiting

JoyPop

Sponsor:

Lakehead University

Code:

NCT05991154

Conditions

Emotion Regulation

Depression

Anxiety

Stress

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 25

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Usual Practice + JoyPop

Study Details

Brief summary:

Indigenous youth in Northwestern Ontario who need mental health supports experience longer waits than non-Indigenous youth within the region and when compared to youth in other more urban areas. Limited access and extended waits can exacerbate symptoms, prolong distress, and increase risk for more serious outcomes. Transitional aged youth (i.e., those in their mid-late teens to early twenties) are a particularly vulnerable group. Novel, innovative approaches are urgently needed to provide support for Indigenous youth in Northwestern Ontario. In partnership with Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, the investigators are evaluating the impact of a mental health app (JoyPop) as a tool for Indigenous transitional-aged youth who are waiting for mental health services. The JoyPop app was developed to support improved emotion regulation - a key difficulty for youth presenting with mental health challenges. A two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the app compared to usual practice while Indigenous transitional-aged youth are waiting for mental health services.

Conditions

Emotion Regulation

Depression

Anxiety

Stress

Study ID

NCT05991154

Start date

Aug 11, 2023

Status verified date

Sep, 2025

Completion date

Dec 31, 2025

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2025

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 25

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Indigenous transitional-aged youth must be on the wait-list for mental health services at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care and be between 18-25 years old.
  • Eligible youth will also need to be available to attend a virtual or in-person orientation session.
  • In order to download the JoyPop app, participants will need access to an iOS device (e.g., iPhone, iPad). Refurbished iPhones containing just the JoyPop app will be provided to participants to use for the duration of the trial if they do not have access to their own.

Study Design

Enrollment

110 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Usual Practice + JoyPop

Participants will be monitored through the existing wait-list practices, which involve regular phone calls to check in and assess functioning, and will receive access to the JoyPop app for 4 weeks.

no intervention: Usual Practice

Participants will be monitored through existing wait-list practices which involve regular phone calls to check in and assess functioning. After 4 weeks in the Usual Practice condition, participants will be offered access to the JoyPop app.

Interventions

Usual Practice + JoyPop

Participants will be asked to use the app at least twice daily but will otherwise not be provided with requirements related to feature or total usage.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in emotion regulation (overall) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]
  • Change in emotion regulation (strategies) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]
  • Change in emotion regulation (non-acceptance) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]
  • Change in emotion regulation (impulse) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]
  • Change in emotion regulation (goals) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]
  • Change in emotion regulation (awareness) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]
  • Change in emotion regulation (clarity) [ Time Frame: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form will be administered at baseline (pre), after 2 weeks (mid), and after 4 weeks (post) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Aislin R Mushquash, Ph.D.

807-343-8010aislin.mushquash@lakeheadu.ca

Locations

Lakehead University

Recruiting

Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, P7B5E1

More Information

Sponsor

Lakehead University

Last update posted

Sep 5, 2025

Last verified

Sep, 2025

Keywords

  • eHealth
  • mobile health
  • smartphone
  • emotion regulation
  • Indigenous
  • First Nations
  • mental health
  • youth
  • transitional-aged youth
  • waitlist

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Lakehead University on 2025-09-05.