Recruiting

Storytelling App vs. Informational App

Sponsor:

UCLA

Code:

NCT06874790

Conditions

Mental Health

Anxiety

Depression

Well-Being, Psychological

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: Female

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Catalina

Control webpage

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study compares a choice-driven, interactive, evidence-informed storytelling web-based app intervention with links to resources and treatment (Tx) recommendations (made by a character via her blog) and Tx locator, to a web-based app with links to publicly available informational internet videos, MH resources, and a treatment locator for at least moderately anxious/depressed untreated English and Spanish speaking Latinas to determine if a story-based, character-driven approach is more effective for catalyzing mental health treatment initiation.

Conditions

Mental Health

Anxiety

Depression

Well-Being, Psychological

Study ID

NCT06874790

Start date

Jul 9, 2025

Status verified date

Dec, 2025

Completion date

Nov 30, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Nov 30, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: Female

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Latina (women who are from or have family ties to Latin America)
  • Currently resides in LA or Orange County
  • Age 18 and older
  • Able to speak, read, and write in English or Spanish
  • Score 10 or higher on GAD-7 and/or PHQ-8
  • Access to the internet via smartphone, tablet, or computer
  • Not currently receiving mental health therapy or pharmacotherapy
  • Has not accessed mental health services during the previous 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not Latina or Hispanic
  • Under age 18

Study Design

Enrollment

700 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Health Services Research

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Catalina transmedia web-based app

Access to Confronting My Emotions/ Enfrentando Mis Emociones (Catalina), an interactive web-based app containing 31 minutes of story based, character-driven videos, featuring evidence-informed Latina characters (Catalina and Veronica) in a relatable story about dealing with depression and anxiety. All features are available 24 hours/day in Spanish and English via a participant's unique link, including access to "Veronica's Blog" linked to the story, and links to resources such as infographics on depression and anxiety, hotlines and helplines, free evidence-based apps, online support groups, SAMHSA's MH service locator plus "Veronica's" recommendation of up to 3 Latinx-serving MH Tx clinics in LA \& Orange Counties where participants can see a primary care physician for referral to MH therapy or pharmacotherapy. Monthly text/email messages will be sent for 9 months to prompt/remind Latinas they can use their unique link to re-watch videos and re-visit Veronica's blog.

active comparator: Links to informational videos

Access to the control web-based app that offers links to 31 minutes of publicly available informational videos specifically about depression and anxiety in Spanish and English (that are not story based and feature no fictionalized characters), available 24 hours/ day via participant's unique link on Chorus. It will provides direct links to 3 public websites: 1) Mental Health America, 2) Anxiety \& Depression Association of America, 3) SAMHSA. All offer even more links to various MH resources, platforms, videos, and to SAMHSA's MH service locator by ZIP Code including to low cost sites for MH Tx.

Interventions

Catalina

Catalina transmedia web-based app intervention with 10 story-based videos (including bonus story extender videos) totaling 31 minutes plus the blog of the character, "Veronica," which has MH resource links including Veronica's recommendations of at least 3 local Latinx-serving clinics in LA and Orange County ZIP Codes that offer low-cost MH Tx.

Control webpage

Links to informational videos (totaling 31 minutes) on depression and anxiety, listing of the same 3 local Latinx-serving clinics in LA and Orange County ZIP codes that offer low-cost MH Tx, and links to nationally available websites that offer resources (including access to service locators).

Primary outcome measure

  • Number of Participants Initiating Mental Health Treatment (MH Tx) [ Time Frame: 9 months ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Study Coordinator

310-210-4273mediahealthstudy@gmail.com

Locations

UCLA

Recruiting

Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095

More Information

Sponsor

University of California, Los Angeles

Last update posted

Dec 22, 2025

Last verified

Dec, 2025

Keywords

  • Latina
  • Women
  • Therapy

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of California, Los Angeles on 2025-12-22.