Clinical trial NCT03776422: Homeless Youth Study - Stepping Stone 2.0
Official title: Homeless Youth Study - Stepping Stone 2.0
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Mental Health Issue (E.G., Depression, Psychosis, Personality Disorder, Substance Abuse)
Lead sponsor: Rush University Medical Center
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Illinois Department of Human Services
name: Sparrow Mobile
First posted: 2018-12-14
Enrollment: 100
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 16
Maximum age (years): 25
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Housing instability is both a cause and consequence of mental health problems. As such youth experiencing housing instability (e.g., homeless or marginally housed) have higher rates of mental health problems.Because of their circumstances, these youth also face significant barriers to mental health care and are therefore less likely to receive the treatment that they need. Mobile technology may offer a novel platform for increasing access to mental health care in this population. The primary goals of this pilot study are to (1) establish the feasibility and acceptability of delivering automated mental health interventions via smartphone technology, (2) examine the extent to which automated mental health interventions delivered via mobile technology improve mental health in homeless, marginally-housed, and exiting foster youth.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* 16-25 years
* English-speaking
* Youth must meet one of the following risk criteria

  * Experiencing housing instability as defined by:

    * lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence OR whose primary nighttime residence is a shelter, institution, or a "public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings"
    * sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing \[or\] economic hardship.
    * frequent moves, poor housing quality (e.g., living in severely overcrowded housing).
  * Imminently leaving the foster care system
* Willingness and ability to comply with requirements of the study protocol

Exclusion Criteria:

\* Inability to understand study procedures and participate in the informed consent process.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Program adherence
timeFrame: Baseline to Endpoint (6 months)
measure: Program satisfaction
timeFrame: Midpoint (3 months) and Endpoint (6 months)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Anxiety symptoms
timeFrame: Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)
measure: Depression symptoms
timeFrame: Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)
measure: Alcohol use
timeFrame: Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)
measure: Cannabis use
timeFrame: Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)
measure: Risky sexual behavior
timeFrame: Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)
measure: PTSD symptoms
timeFrame: Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)
measure: Satisfaction with life: Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)
timeFrame: Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)
measure: Psychosocial flourishing
timeFrame: Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Chicago
country: United States
facility: Rush University Medical Center
state: Illinois
Study officials:
affiliation: University of California, Irvine
name: Alyson K Zalta, PhD
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
References:
citation: Straka K, Blacketer AR, Martinez RL, Glover A, Winiarski DA, Karnik NS, Schueller SM, Zalta AK. Rates and correlates of well-being among youth experiencing homelessness. J Community Psychol. 2022 Sep;50(8):3746-3759. doi: 10.1002/jcop.22869. Epub 2022 Apr 23.
citation: Glover AC, Schueller SM, Winiarski DA, Smith DL, Karnik NS, Zalta AK. Automated Mobile Phone-Based Mental Health Resource for Homeless Youth: Pilot Study Assessing Feasibility and Acceptability. JMIR Ment Health. 2019 Oct 11;6(10):e15144. doi: 10.2196/15144.