AzTrials
AzTrials

PsychosisNCT05905601

mHealth for Psychosis Help-seeking

A study testing NORTH "Full" and NORTH "Lite" in people with Psychosis, run by University of Washington at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

The proposed study research project aims to develop and test a mobile health intervention designed to improve the wellness of young people at risk for psychosis and facilitate users' engagement with treatment and thus reduce duration of untreated psychosis. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 30 years
Conditions the study is for
Psychosis
What is being tested?
NORTH "Full" and NORTH "Lite"
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
60 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
15 Jun 2023to 3 Jul 2024
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 30 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Elevated risk for psychosis that warrants further evaluation (a distress score >= 20 on the Prodromal Questionnaire, Brief [PQ-B], per Savill et al., 2018; and a positive frequency average score >= 1.47 on the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences [CAPE-P15], per Jaya et al., 2021 and Bukenaite et al., 2017) and confirmation of symptoms consistent with online data collection checks (per Moritz et al., 2013)
  • Age 18-30 years old
  • Lives in the United States
  • Under five years since participant's first psychotic episode or awareness of symptom onset
  • Owns an iPhone
  • Unengaged in specialty mental health treatment, in which the participant has not done either of the following in the previous three months: (1) taken a prescribed antipsychotic medication, (2) attended regular (i.e. more than one session of) psychotherapy.

Who cannot join

  • Failed to demonstrate understanding of study details in comprehension screening process.
  • Engaged in specialty mental health treatment in the previous three months, defined as the following: (1) taken a prescribed antipsychotic medication, OR (2) attended regular (i.e. more than one session of) psychotherapy.
  • Unengaged in treatment, but only as a result of having completed or "graduated" from a specialty mental health program.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • University of Washington

    Seattle, Washington, 98195

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: User-centered Design of a Mobile Health Intervention to Promote Help-seeking and Reduce Duration of Untreated Illness Among Young Adults With Early Psychosis

The proposed study research project aims to develop and test a mobile health intervention designed to improve the wellness of young people at risk for psychosis and facilitate users' engagement with treatment and thus reduce duration of untreated psychosis. This clinical trial will involve a remote pilot randomized controlled trial that will examine (1) the feasibility of the proposed research approach, (2) the acceptability and usability of the NORTH intervention as well as (3) the specific additive value of help-seeking support in the context of self-guided mHealth for early psychosis. The full intervention, which includes psychoeducational lessons, Cognitive-Behavior Therapy-based practices, a symptom tracking feature, and help-seeking resources will be compared to a "Lite" version that will include the lessons, practices, and tracking but exclude the help-seeking resources.

Conditions
Psychosis
Being tested
NORTH "Full", NORTH "Lite"
Keywords
Early psychosis, Psychosis risk, Duration of untreated psychosis
Medical subject headings
Psychotic Disorders

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • NORTH "Full"Behavioural

    NORTH is a native mobile app that provides on-demand content to young adults at risk for psychosis to improve or maintain their well-being, coping skills, and healthy habits, knowledge of psychosis, and provide help-seeking resources.

  • NORTH "Lite"Behavioural

    NORTH "Lite" contains the same on-demand lessons, practices and tracking features found in the "Full" NORTH mobile application but does not include help-seeking resources.

Study groups in NCT05905601
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
NORTH "Full"ExperimentalParticipants in the experimental arm will be provided access to the "Full" NORTH smartphone application designed to support young adults at risk for psychosis. They will also have access to the research team by phone for technical troubleshooting and support as necessary.
Receives: Behavioral: NORTH "Full"
NORTH "Lite"ExperimentalParticipants in the control arm will be provided access to the NORTH "Lite" smartphone application designed to support young adults at risk for psychosis. They will also have access to the research team by phone for technical troubleshooting and support as necessary.
Receives: Behavioral: NORTH "Lite"

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change in Treatment Seeking Steps

    Treatment seeking will be measured using the Measure to Assess Steps to Service (MASS). The MASS is a 17-item self-report assessment of steps taken towards the attainment of mental health treatment, including research, social support, and engagement with service provider steps. Each item is endorsed on a three-point Likert scale (0 = No, I have not done this, 1 = I have done this once or twice, 2 = I have done this multiple times). The MASS is scored by summing individual items with higher scores indicating greater levels of treatment-seeking actions (range from 0 to 34). Increases in MASS scores were intended as an outcome of the proposed study (i.e. encouraging help-seeking).

    Measured: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  2. Change in Treatment-related Attitudes/Beliefs (Treatment Beliefs)

    Help-Seeking Attitudes and Stigma will be measured primarily using the Endorsed and Anticipated Stigma Inventory (EASI). The full EASI is a 40-item self-reported questionnaire with subscales measuring beliefs about mental illness, beliefs about mental health treatment, beliefs about mental health treatment seeking, concerns about stigma from loved ones, and concerns about stigma from the workplace. The subscales are scored by summing the ratings from the eight individual items in each subscale (5-point scale with 1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree), with lower scores indicating less stigma, and more positive attitudes towards treatment and treatment-seeking.

    The Beliefs About Treatment Scale assesses individuals' beliefs about the efficacy and usefulness of mental health treatments. It is totaled as a sum, and thus scores range from 8 to 40 with higher scores indicating more stigmatizing attitudes toward treatment.

    Measured: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  3. Change in Treatment-related Attitudes/Beliefs (Treatment Seeking Attitudes)

    Help-Seeking Attitudes and Stigma will be measured primarily using the Endorsed and Anticipated Stigma Inventory (EASI). The full EASI is a 40-item self-reported questionnaire with subscales measuring beliefs about mental illness, beliefs about mental health treatment, beliefs about mental health treatment seeking, concerns about stigma from loved ones, and concerns about stigma from the workplace. The subscales are scored by summing the ratings from the eight individual items in each subscale (5-point scale with 1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree), with lower scores indicating less stigma, and more positive attitudes towards treatment and treatment-seeking.

    The Beliefs About Treatment Seeking assesses individuals' attitudes toward seeking mental health treatments. It is totaled as a sum, and thus scores range from 8 to 40 with higher scores indicating more stigmatizing attitudes toward treatment seeking.

    Measured: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  4. Change in Internalized Stigma

    The Internalized Stigma of Mental Health Inventory, Brief (ISMI-9) will provide additional insight into the strength of participants' internalized stigma of mental illness. The ISMI-9 is a nine-item self-report short form, where each item is rated on a four-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree, 4 = Strongly agree), and totaled as a mean score. Thus scores range from 1 to 4 with higher scores indicating more severe internalization of mental illness stigma.

    Measured: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  5. Change in Perceived Stress**

    Perceived stress will be measured using the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), which is a 30-item, self-report questionnaire that examines the experience of stress independent of a specific and objective occasion. Items are endorsed on a four-point scale (1 = Almost never, 4 = Usually), and are summed for a total score (ranging from 30 to 120), with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived stress.

    **NOTE: At baseline, the version provided to participants included the version of the PSQ that instructing participants to report on the past "year or two" while 6-week and 12-week assessments ask participants to report on the previous "month or so." While totals are still reported (as these still provide some information about intervention effects) these numbers should be interpreted with caution and in concert with other collected measures that include items about stress levels and coping with consistent reporting periods at all time points.

    Measured: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  6. Change in Resilience / Coping

    The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) will be used to assess resiliency. The BRS is a self-report form that consists of six resiliency statements that participants agree or disagree with on a five-point scale (1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree). Scores are totaled as a mean, and thus range from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating greater resilience.

    Measured: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

Secondary outcomes (6)
  1. Change in Symptoms (Positive)

    The Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE-42) will be used to assess positive, negative and depressive symptoms of psychosis. The CAPE-42 is a self-report, 42 two-part item assessment that measures both the frequency of experiencing symptoms (four-point scale, 1 = Never, 4 = Almost Always) as well as the distress level (four-point scale, 1 = Not Distressed, 4 = Very Distressed) associated with each endorsed symptom. The CAPE weighted score can be calculated by summing the frequency and distress item responses. The positive subscale is 20 items and is totaled as a mean response ranging from 2 to 8, with higher scores indicating more frequent and distressing positive symptoms.

    Measured: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  2. Change in Symptoms (Negative)

    The Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE-42) will be used to assess positive, negative and depressive symptoms of psychosis. The CAPE-42 is a self-report, 42 two-part item assessment that measures both the frequency of experiencing symptoms (four-point scale, 1 = Never, 4 = Almost Always) as well as the distress level (four-point scale, 1 = Not Distressed, 4 = Very Distressed) associated with each endorsed symptom. The CAPE weighted score can be calculated by summing the frequency and distress item responses. The negative subscale is 14 items and is totaled as a mean response ranging from 2 to 8, with higher scores indicating more frequent and distressing negative symptoms.

    Measured: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  3. Change in Symptoms (Depressive)

    The Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE-42) will be used to assess positive, negative and depressive symptoms of psychosis. The CAPE-42 is a self-report, 42 two-part item assessment that measures both the frequency of experiencing symptoms (four-point scale, 1 = Never, 4 = Almost Always) as well as the distress level (four-point scale, 1 = Not Distressed, 4 = Very Distressed) associated with each endorsed symptom. The CAPE weighted score can be calculated by summing the frequency and distress item responses. The depressive subscale is 8 items and is totaled as a mean response ranging from 2 to 8, with higher scores indicating more frequent and distressing depressive symptoms.

    Measured: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  4. Change in Recovery

    Recovery will be assessed using the Choice of Outcome in CBT for Psychoses, Short Form (CHOICE-SF). The CHOICE-SF is an 11-item self-report form developed to assess recovery-related goals for therapy. Participants rate themselves in different therapy-focused areas such as "self-confidence" or "ways of dealing with everyday stress" on a scale (0 = Worst, 10 = Best). Scores on the CHOICE-SF are totaled as mean score across all standard items, and thus range from 0 to 10 with higher scores reflecting improved recovery.

    Measured: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  5. Change in Functioning

    Functioning will be measured using the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS). The SDS is a short, five-item self-report form that assesses disability and functional impairment. The total score is the sum of three items measure to what extent symptoms have disrupted different aspects of daily life on a scale (0 = Not at all, 10 = Severely), thus the scale ranges from 0 to 30 with higher scores indicating greater functional impairment.

    Measured: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  6. Intervention Acceptability / Usability

    Usability/Acceptability will be assessed with a modified version of the System Usability Scale derived from our group's previous work developing mHealth interventions. This composite measure, which comprises 26 items based on four measures - the System Usability Scale, Post Study System Usability Scale, Technology Assessment Model Measurement Scales, and Usefulness, Satisfaction and Ease Questionnaire - assesses participants' experiences with the intervention during the study period (1 = Disagree, 2 = Neutral, 3 = Agree). While this measure is often interpreted qualitatively by item, we will also compare the overall score, which will comprise an average and thus range from 1 to 3, with higher scores reflecting higher acceptability and usability.

    Measured: 6 weeks

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted15 Jun 2023
  2. Study start15 Jun 2023
  3. Primary completion3 Jul 2024
  4. Study completion3 Jul 2024

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
60 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05905601
Sponsor's protocol ID
STUDY00009039
Other IDs
K23MH122504-01
Status last verified
Jul 2025
First submitted
26 May 2023
Last updated
29 Jul 2025
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing NORTH "Full" and NORTH "Lite" in people with Psychosis, run by University of Washington at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 29 Jul 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 29 Jul 2025). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change in Treatment Seeking Steps (time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks). The study lists 6 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 29 Jul 2025.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in