ClinicalTrials.gg
Not yet recruitingNCT06122688Updated Jan 28, 2026

By Youth, For Youth: Digital Supported Peer Navigation for Addressing Child Mental Health Care

An interventional study of Navigator Plus App Intervention in Anxiety, Depression and Mental Health Issue, sponsored by University of California, Riverside. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 13 Years to 99 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-01-28.

Primary conditionDepressionRegistry: Anxiety DisordersReclassifiedWhy we changed it
Registry
Anxiety Disorders — the first condition term the registry derived for this study.
ClinicalTrials.gg
Depression
Why
  1. The registry often attaches Anxiety Disorders to studies about something else, and this study's title and listed conditions do not name it.
  2. The study's listed conditions name Depression.
Confidence
High: the new condition is named in the study's own listed conditions. Of 351 hand-checked studies reclassified this way, 68% were exactly right and 84% in the right disease family; the registry's first term was right for 5% (measured 2026-10-21). How we classify →
Wrong?
Tell us the study's main condition →

Sponsored by University of California, Riverside · Not applicable, Interventional, and Health services research

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
8,360
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
13 Years to 99 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Despite significant progress in research, practice, and policy over the past few decades, many children and youth continue to experience poor mental health outcomes. With their unrivaled ability to reach youth, school-based services and primary care are ideal hubs to provide mental health, healthcare, social services, and prevention to youth and families who otherwise face barriers to care. Using Participatory Design and Community Partnered Participatory Research (CPPR) for app development, mobile technology is designed to optimize access to wellness resources. The proposed intervention is a model of care using technology and navigators for connecting youth ages 13-22 to mental health care and supports. The app is co-created with the community and supported by culturally responsive individuals called family and youth navigators, in schools and primary care clinics. Outcomes are measured using the cascade of care model.

Read the detailed description

Using Participatory Design and Community Partnered Participatory Research (CPPR), UCLA and UCR psychiatry research centers with Los Angeles Trust for Children's Health aim to: (1) Fully co-design (with youth, caregivers, clinicians and other stakeholders) an innovative mental health digital tool, called Connected for Wellness, to implement algorithmically supported mental health + social determinants, resiliency app based tools and navigation activities AND help support the clinical workforce within schools and primary care clinics (PCCs); (2) Study the implementation of mental health navigation models (family and youth navigation) plus the Connected for Wellness app, and their effectiveness for improving connecting and matching youth to the right level of care and supports. We will accomplish these aims through three strategies: (1) Use community participatory informatics to co-design a mental health digital tool called Connected for Wellness, to support mental health navigation, linking youth to a range of mental health services, evidence-based prevention resources referred via the app, and other school, clinic, community, and social supports; (2) Integrate mental health self-assessments and artificial intelligence (AI) in Connected for Wellness to individualize app resources, optimize engagement and recommendations for addressing mental health and social needs; (3) Using a stepped wedge design, test the implementation of the app supported by mental health navigation models (peer navigators, family navigators) for improving connections and access to prevention resources, mental health services and social supports, for youth and families. This project will be initiated with youth 13-22 years old and their family and community members across 10 Los Angeles County Schools and 10 Riverside County/University of California Riverside primary care clinics. A successful outcome of the project is a CPPR developed app-based intervention implementable in school-based and primary care services for access to wellness resources and improving mental health services access along the cascade of care. Outcomes are measured using the cascade of care model with the following key stages: (1) need identification, (2) referral to care/ linkage to resources, and (3) care initiation.

02

Conditions studied

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Mental Health Issue

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03

In context

Depression Reclassified

8,577 studies on the registry are indexed under Depression; 1,720 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 8,360 is above the median of 81 across 7,063 interventional studies indexed under Depression.

Browse Depression studies →

Lead sponsor

University of California, Riverside is the lead sponsor of 19 studies on the registry; 6 are open to participants now.

Compared within Depression, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Anxiety Disorders. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
13 Years to 99 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Youth 13-22 enrolled in high school or participating primary care clinics, and their caregivers.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Those not meeting inclusion criteria
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Health services research
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
8,360 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • No intervention
    Care as usual

    All individuals within each site regardless of type of site or step period will begin with a control period of care as usual Youth and parents within each site will have access to navigators who will share information about mental health and social services supports as well as referrals. The duration of the control period (1, 2, or 3 years; collected via medical and/or other administrative records) will depend on the step period of the individual's site.

  • Experimental
    Implementation

    In this stepped wedge design, following a period of care as usual as a control, sites will then cross over to the experimental arm, during which, all youth and their caregivers at the enrolled site are encouraged to download and use the wellness app for the duration of the implementation period. Navigators promote and support use of the app.

    Behavioral: Navigator Plus App Intervention

Interventions

  • BehavioralNavigator Plus App Intervention

    Navigators will provide their usual care services and also be encouraged to use the Connected for Wellness (CFW) app during their usual activities with youth and caregivers at their site. The duration of this period (2, 3, or 4 years) will depend on the step period of the individual's site. All youth at the school or clinic site can use the CFW app on their own and through the app receive prevention strategies, psycho-education that destigmatizes mental health, encourages referrals to local resources as needed, and increases motivation to access care if needed.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Proportion of youth referred to mental health services who initiate care.

    Referral to and initiation of mental health services data will be obtained from electronic medical records.

    Time frame: 1 year

Secondary outcomes

  1. Proportion of youth completing a mental health screening who are referred to care.

    Mental health screening and referral to mental health services data will be obtained from electronic medical records.

    Time frame: 1 year

Other outcomes

  1. Proportion of youth in school/clinic completing a mental health screening.

    Mental health screening data will be obtained from electronic medical records.

    Time frame: 1 year

  2. Proportion of youth initiating mental health services who have 3 or more visits.

    Mental health initiation and visit data will be obtained from electronic medical records.

    Time frame: 1 year

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

References and documents

Publications

  • Cook BL, Trinh NH, Li Z, Hou SS, Progovac AM. Trends in Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Access to Mental Health Care, 2004-2012. Psychiatr Serv. 2017 Jan 1;68(1):9-16. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201500453. Epub 2016 Aug 1. PubMed 27476805 ↗
  • Marrast L, Himmelstein DU, Woolhandler S. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mental Health Care for Children and Young Adults: A National Study. Int J Health Serv. 2016 Oct;46(4):810-24. doi: 10.1177/0020731416662736. Epub 2016 Aug 12. PubMed 27520100 ↗
  • Kataoka SH, Vona P, Acuna A, Jaycox L, Escudero P, Rojas C, Ramirez E, Langley A, Stein BD. Applying a Trauma Informed School Systems Approach: Examples from School Community-Academic Partnerships. Ethn Dis. 2018 Sep 6;28(Suppl 2):417-426. doi: 10.18865/ed.28.S2.417. eCollection 2018. PubMed 30202195 ↗
  • Arevian AC, Jones F, Moore EM, Goodsmith N, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Ewing T, Siddiq H, Lester P, Cheung E, Ijadi-Maghsoodi R, Gabrielian S, Sugarman OK, Bonds C, Benitez C, Innes-Gomberg D, Springgate B, Haywood C, Meyers D, Sherin JE, Wells K. Mental Health Community and Health System Issues in COVID-19: Lessons from Academic, Community, Provider and Policy Stakeholders. Ethn Dis. 2020 Sep 24;30(4):695-700. doi: 10.18865/ed.30.4.695. eCollection 2020 Fall. PubMed 32989370 ↗
  • Balcombe L, De Leo D. Digital Mental Health Challenges and the Horizon Ahead for Solutions. JMIR Ment Health. 2021 Mar 29;8(3):e26811. doi: 10.2196/26811. PubMed 33779570 ↗
  • Ellis DM, Draheim AA, Anderson PL. Culturally adapted digital mental health interventions for ethnic/racial minorities: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2022 Oct;90(10):717-733. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000759. Epub 2022 Oct 13. PubMed 36227330 ↗
  • Fortuna LR, Tolou-Shams M, Robles-Ramamurthy B, Porche MV. Inequity and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color in the United States: The need for a trauma-informed social justice response. Psychol Trauma. 2020 Jul;12(5):443-445. doi: 10.1037/tra0000889. Epub 2020 Jun 1. PubMed 32478545 ↗
  • Lyon AR, Koerner K. User-Centered Design for Psychosocial Intervention Development and Implementation. Clin Psychol (New York). 2016 Jun;23(2):180-200. doi: 10.1111/cpsp.12154. Epub 2016 Jun 17. PubMed 29456295 ↗
  • Park SY, Nicksic Sigmon C, Boeldt D. A Framework for the Implementation of Digital Mental Health Interventions: The Importance of Feasibility and Acceptability Research. Cureus. 2022 Sep 19;14(9):e29329. doi: 10.7759/cureus.29329. eCollection 2022 Sep. PubMed 36277565 ↗
  • Porche MV, Folk JB, Tolou-Shams M, Fortuna LR. Researchers' Perspectives on Digital Mental Health Intervention Co-Design With Marginalized Community Stakeholder Youth and Families. Front Psychiatry. 2022 Apr 22;13:867460. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.867460. eCollection 2022. PubMed 35530032 ↗
  • Fortuna LR, Porche MV, Shumway M, Ijadi-Maghsoodi R, Aralis H, Folk JB, Tolou-Shams M, Barish G, Gonzalez JC, Kataoka S. Addressing Youth Mental Health Through Schools and Primary Care Clinics Using the Connected for Wellness Mobile App: Protocol for a Stepped-Wedge Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2025 Aug 26;14:e73721. doi: 10.2196/73721. PubMed 40857099 ↗
09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Start is estimated for Jul 2026; primary completion for Jun 2029, 35 months later.

Of 3,468 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Depression, half reached primary completion within 21 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 41. This study's planned 35 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 3,566 studies reached it within 21 months; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 41.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Oct 31, 2023
First posted
Nov 8, 2023
StartEst.
Jul 1, 2026
Primary completionEst.
Jun 30, 2029
CompletionEst.
Jun 30, 2029
Last update
Jan 28, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 28, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06122688
Lead sponsor
University of California, Riverside
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 8, 2023
Start date
Jul 1, 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2029 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 30, 2029 (estimated)
Last update
Jan 28, 2026

Study contacts

Lisa Fortuna, MD, MPH
Contact
lisa.fortuna@medsch.ucr.edu
(951) 827-0742
Sheryl Kataoka, MD, MSHS
Contact
skataoka@mednet.ucla.edu

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Jan 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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