ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2019
A Mobile Phone-Based Intervention to Improve Mental Health Among Homeless Young Adults: Pilot Feasibility Trial.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03620682 (Using Smartphone Technology to Provide Mental Health Interventions for Homeless Youth), which is not on this map. Cited by 43 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Using Smartphone Technology to Provide Mental Health Interventions for Homeless Youth
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 76 citations in OpenAlex.
- The use of chatbots as interventions for mental health conditions: scoping review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Pooled it
- The Acceptability, Engagement, and Feasibility of Mental Health Apps for Marginalized and Underserved Young People: Systematic Review and Qualitative Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Outcomes of Best-Practice Guided Digital Mental Health Interventions for Youth and Young Adults with Emerging Symptoms: Part II. A Systematic Review of User Experience Outcomes.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2024Pooled it
- Outcomes of Best-Practice Guided Digital Mental Health Interventions for Youth and Young Adults with Emerging Symptoms: Part I. A Systematic Review of Socioemotional Outcomes and Recommendations.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2024Pooled it
- Use of Technology to Promote Health and Wellbeing of People Who Are Homeless: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Effectiveness and Safety of Using Chatbots to Improve Mental Health: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Pooled it
- Mediators of Intervention Effects on Depressive Symptoms Among People Living With HIV: Secondary Analysis of a Mobile Health Randomized Controlled Trial Using Latent Growth Curve Modeling.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2019Trial
- Effects of Community-Based Health and Social Interventions on Mental Health Outcomes Among People Experiencing Homelessness: A Systematic Review.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2026Review
- A scoping review of the characteristics, responsibilities, implementations and evaluations of digital navigators in healthcare.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- A mixed methods evaluation of a pilot open trial of a mentor-guided digital intervention for youth anxiety.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Leveraging a digital health intervention to improve recovery outcomes among people with substance misuse experiencing housing insecurity.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Article
- Implementing Digital Mental Health Tools in the Public Behavioral Health Systems: A Multi-City/County Evaluation of California's Help@Hand Project.Research square · 2025Article
- Designing Digital Mental Health Interventions to Meet the Needs of Older Adolescents: Qualitative Interview and Group Discussion Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Digital Mental Health Interventions for Young People Aged 16-25 Years: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- A scoping review of digital interventions for the promotion of mental health and prevention of mental health conditions for young people.Oxford open digital health · 2025Review
- Leveraging Feedback From Families of Children With Autism to Create Digital Support for Service Navigation: Descriptive Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Dealing with Diversity in Digital Psychological Interventions for Young People: A Structured Review.ACI open · 2024Review
- A collaborative realist review of remote measurement technologies for depression in young people.Nature human behaviour · 2024Review
- Article
- Investigating the effects of housing instability on depression, anxiety, and mental health treatment in childhood and adolescence.AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings. AMIA Symposium · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundYouth homelessness is a substantial issue, and many youths experiencing homelessness have mental health issues as both a cause and consequence of homelessness. These youths face many barriers to receiving traditional mental health services, and as a result, only a few youths experiencing homelessness receive any form of mental health care.
objectiveThis project aimed to develop and determine the feasibility and acceptability of engaging young adults (ie, individuals aged 18-24 years) experiencing homelessness in a remotely delivered mental health intervention. This intervention provided brief emotional support and coping skills, drawing from cognitive behavioral principles as an introduction into psychosocial support. The intervention was piloted in a homeless shelter network.
methodsA total of 35 young adults experiencing homelessness participated in a single-arm feasibility pilot trial. Participants received a mobile phone, a service and data plan, and 1 month of support from a coach consisting of up to 3 brief phone sessions, text messaging, and mobile mental health apps. We evaluated feasibility by looking at completion of sessions as well as the overall program and acceptability with satisfaction ratings. We also collected clinical symptoms at baseline and the end of the 1-month support period. We used validity items to identify participants who might be responding inappropriately and thus only report satisfaction ratings and clinical outcomes from valid responses.
resultsMost participants (20/35, 57%) completed all 3 of their phone sessions, with an average of 2.09 sessions (SD 1.22) completed by each participant. Participants sent an average of 15.06 text messages (SD 12.62) and received an average of 19.34 messages (SD 12.70). We found higher rates of satisfaction among the participants with valid responses, with 100% (23/23) of such participants indicating that they would recommend participation to someone else and 52% (12/23) reporting that they were very or extremely satisfied with their participation. We found very little change from pre- to posttreatment on measures of depression (d=0.27), post-traumatic stress disorder (d=0.17), and emotion regulation (d=0.10).
conclusionsThis study demonstrated that it was feasible to engage homeless young adults in mental health services in this technology-based intervention with high rates of satisfaction. We did not find changes in clinical outcomes; however, we had a small sample size and a brief intervention. Technology might be an important avenue to reach young adults experiencing homelessness, but additional work could explore proper interventions to deliver with such a platform.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03620682; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03620682.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.