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 urban areas. Limited access and extended waits can exacerbate symptoms, prolong distress, and increase risk for adverse outcomes. Innovative approaches are urgently needed to provide support for Indigenous youth in Northwestern Ontario. Using a randomized controlled trial design, the primary objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the JoyPop app compared to usual practice (UP; monitoring) in improving emotion regulation among Indigenous youth (12–17 years) who are awaiting mental health services. The secondary objectives are to (1) assess change in mental health difficulties and treatment readiness between youth in each condition to better understand the app’s broader impact as a waitlist tool and (2) conduct an economic analysis to determine whether receiving the app while waiting for mental health services reduces other health service use and associated costs. A pragmatic, parallel arm randomized controlled superiority trial will be used. Participants will be randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to the control (UP) or intervention (UP + JoyPop) condition. Stratified block randomization will be used to randomly assign participants to each condition. All participants will be monitored through existing waitlist practices, which involve regular phone calls to check in and assess functioning. Participants in the intervention condition will receive access to the JoyPop app for 4 weeks and will be asked to use it at least twice daily. All participants will be asked to complete outcome measures at baseline, after 2 weeks, and after 4 weeks. This trial will evaluate the effectiveness of the JoyPop app as a tool to support Indigenous youth waiting for mental health services. Should findings show that using the JoyPop app is beneficial, there may be support from partners and other organizations to integrate it into usual care pathways. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05898516 [registered on June 1, 2023].

中文翻译：

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使用 JoyPop 移动心理健康应用程序增加 12-17 岁原住民青年获得心理健康支持的机会：随机对照试验的研究方案

安大略省西北部需要心理健康支持的土著青年比该地区的非土著青年以及城市地区的青年要经历更长的等待时间。有限的准入和长时间的等待可能会加剧症状、延长痛苦时间并增加不良后果的风险。迫切需要创新方法为安大略省西北部的土著青年提供支持。本研究采用随机对照试验设计，主要目的是确定 JoyPop 应用程序与常规做法（UP；监测）相比，在改善等待心理健康服务的原住民青少年（12-17 岁）情绪调节方面的有效性。次要目标是 (1) 评估每种情况下青少年心理健康困难和治疗准备情况的变化，以更好地了解该应用程序作为候补名单工具的更广泛影响，以及 (2) 进行经济分析，以确定是否在等待时接收该应用程序精神卫生服务减少了其他卫生服务的使用和相关成本。将使用务实的平行臂随机对照优效性试验。参与者将以 1:1 的比例随机分配到对照 (UP) 或干预 (UP + JoyPop) 条件。分层区块随机化将用于将参与者随机分配到每个条件。所有参与者都将通过现有的候补名单做法进行监控，其中包括定期电话检查和评估功能。处于干预状态的参与者将可以使用 JoyPop 应用程序 4 周，并被要求每天至少使用两次。所有参与者都将被要求在基线、2 周后和 4 周后完成结果测量。该试验将评估 JoyPop 应用程序作为支持等待心理健康服务的原住民青年的工具的有效性。如果研究结果表明使用 JoyPop 应用程序是有益的，合作伙伴和其他组织可能会支持将其整合到常规护理途径中。 https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05898516 [注册于 2023 年 6 月 1 日]。