Stigma, SocialNCT06114862
Brief Interventions on Social Media to Reduce Suicide Risk (Intervention 2)
A study testing Stigma-reduction intervention in people with Stigma, Social and Mental Health Issue, run by Harvard University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This clinical trial is part of a series of brief interventions to reduce suicide risk in collaboration with the social media platform RallyPoint, a site specifically designed for U.S. servicemembers and veterans to connect with one another. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Stigma, Social, Mental Health Issue
- What is being tested?
- Stigma-reduction intervention
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 0 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Oct 2024to 14 Mar 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
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 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Active RallyPoint users endorsing any symptoms of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts and behaviors in the past year on a screener questionnaire will be eligible for this intervention.
Who cannot join
- RallyPoint users denying depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts or behaviors in the past year in the screener survey.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
RallyPoint Networks, Inc
Boston, Massachusetts, 02109
About this study
Official title: Analysis of a Peer-to-Peer Support Social Media Platform for Service Members and Veterans of the U.S. Military: Intervention 2 (Stigma-Reduction)
This clinical trial is part of a series of brief interventions to reduce suicide risk in collaboration with the social media platform RallyPoint, a site specifically designed for U.S. servicemembers and veterans to connect with one another. This RCT (Intervention 2: Stigma Reduction) is focused on decreasing the stigma associated with sharing one's personal experiences related to mental health on the RallyPoint site. Specifically, the investigators will test the effect of a psychoeducational intervention that will provide participants information on the potential benefits of self-disclosure.
Read the detailed description
Both active duty and veterans of the United States military are at elevated risk for the development of psychological disorders such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol and substance use disorders, and suicide. Despite the clear need for psychological interventions for this population, only a small proportion of veterans utilize the Veteran's Affairs Health Care System for psychiatric care. Further, most people who are at-risk for suicide do not present for mental health treatment prior to their deaths. There are several reasons why military personnel may not seek out treatment, including stigma of mental health care, or structural barriers such as availability of treatment. Prior research from the current team comparing Army soldiers who died by suicide to matched control soldiers found that suicide decedents were more likely to perceive concerns that receiving mental health care would hurt their careers, reduce others' confidence in them, or lead others to see them as weak.
To increase the likelihood that veterans and servicemembers receive the help they need, one option is to harness technology to assess and treat mental health concerns outside of traditional healthcare settings. Social media platforms may be a particularly promising avenue for identifying and providing outreach to at-risk individuals, given research suggesting that peer support may be preferable to professional mental health treatment. In fact, a recent survey of military servicemembers conducted by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, servicemembers indicated that when they are feeling stressed, they prefer to speak with peers or spouses/partners (48-54%) rather than medical or mental health professionals (4-7%). Social media platforms may offer a scalable way of identifying and helping at-risk individuals.
In the current project, the investigators have partnered with the military-specific social media site RallyPoint (www.rallypoint.com) in order to determine how to best support at-risk veterans and servicemembers. The investigators will be testing three brief interventions aimed at connecting RallyPoint users to peer and professional resources:
Intervention 1: Peer support: This intervention will aim to improve RallyPoint users' ability to support their peers.
Intervention 2: Stigma-reduction intervention (current intervention): This intervention will focus on reducing barriers that are inhibiting members in distress from reaching out to their peers.
Intervention 3: Professional Outreach: This last intervention will aim to reduce barriers that are inhibiting members in distress from seeking professional mental health support.
- Conditions
- Stigma, Social, Mental Health Issue
- Being tested
- Stigma-reduction intervention
- Medical subject headings
- Social Stigma
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Stigma-reduction interventionBehavioural
Participants will be presented with a list of common reasons why people report not wanting to tell other people about their mental health concerns, drawing from research in this area. Participants will be asked to click on any reason that resonates with them or about which they are interested in learning more. When they click on a particular reason, they will then be presented with psychoeducational information to allay their concerns. For example, if a participant replies that they wouldn't reach out to peers "because others don't understand what I'm going through," we might present context showing that many of their peers have had similar challenges with mental health and have found peer support helpful. Participants will be able to click on as many reasons on this list that they would like to.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Control | No intervention | Of the individuals identified in the screener survey endorsing past year mental health symptoms, half will be randomized into the control group. The control group will not be contacted. The investigators will passively monitor their posts on RallyPoint for the duration of the study (6 months). |
| Intervention | Experimental | Of the individuals identified in the screener survey endorsing past year mental health symptoms, half will be randomized into the intervention group. Participants in the intervention group will be recruited using a banner or pop-up message on their RallyPoint homepage or through a message on the RallyPoint site which will ask them if they have time to answer a few questions about their experiences on the RallyPoint site. If participants decline to answer these questions, a message will appear stating that they will be contacted again later, and the investigators will wait several days before contacting the potential participant again. After three attempts, participants will not be re-contacted. Participants' posts on RallyPoint will be passively monitored for 6 months after completing the intervention. Receives: Behavioral: Stigma-reduction intervention |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Number of mental health related posts
Whether intervention group participants are more likely to post about their personal mental health on RallyPoint after engaging with the intervention (compared to the content of their posts before receiving the intervention), and whether they are more likely to share information on their personal mental health compared with the control group. The investigators may also examine the moderating effects of participants' beliefs about mental health, which will be assessed in the screener survey.
Measured: 6 months post intervention
Engagement with intervention
Engagement will be measured by how much time participants spend exploring the intervention and how many different reasons are explored in the intervention list.
Measured: During intervention
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted2 Nov 2023
- Study start1 Oct 2024
- Primary completion14 Mar 2025
- Study completion14 Mar 2025
Why it stopped: Unable to identify enough eligible participants to begin enrollment in intervention.
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Stigma, SocialStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
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
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 0 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Harvard University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Matthew Nock, Harvard University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06114862
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- IRB19-1260-2
- Status last verified
- Aug 2025
- First submitted
- 30 Oct 2023
- Last updated
- 13 Aug 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 13 Aug 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Analysis of a Peer-to-Peer Support Social Media Platform for Service Members and Veterans of the U.S. Military: Intervention 2 (Stigma-Reduction)
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06114862
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- IRB19-1260-2
- Conditions
- Stigma, Social, Mental Health Issue
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- WithdrawnReason stopped: Unable to identify enough eligible participants to begin enrollment in intervention.
- Enrolment
- 0 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Harvard UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Oct 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 14 Mar 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 14 Mar 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 2 Nov 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This clinical trial is part of a series of brief interventions to reduce suicide risk in collaboration with the social media platform RallyPoint, a site specifically designed for U.S. servicemembers and veterans to connect with one another. This RCT (Intervention 2: Stigma Reduction) is focused on decreasing the stigma associated with sharing one's personal experiences related to mental health on the RallyPoint site. Specifically, the investigators will test the effect of a psychoeducational intervention that will provide participants information on the potential benefits of self-disclosure.
Detailed description
Both active duty and veterans of the United States military are at elevated risk for the development of psychological disorders such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol and substance use disorders, and suicide. Despite the clear need for psychological interventions for this population, only a small proportion of veterans utilize the Veteran's Affairs Health Care System for psychiatric care. Further, most people who are at-risk for suicide do not present for mental health treatment prior to their deaths. There are several reasons why military personnel may not seek out treatment, including stigma of mental health care, or structural barriers such as availability of treatment. Prior research from the current team comparing Army soldiers who died by suicide to matched control soldiers found that suicide decedents were more likely to perceive concerns that receiving mental health care would hurt their careers, reduce others' confidence in them, or lead others to see them as weak.
To increase the likelihood that veterans and servicemembers receive the help they need, one option is to harness technology to assess and treat mental health concerns outside of traditional healthcare settings. Social media platforms may be a particularly promising avenue for identifying and providing outreach to at-risk individuals, given research suggesting that peer support may be preferable to professional mental health treatment. In fact, a recent survey of military servicemembers conducted by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, servicemembers indicated that when they are feeling stressed, they prefer to speak with peers or spouses/partners (48-54%) rather than medical or mental health professionals (4-7%). Social media platforms may offer a scalable way of identifying and helping at-risk individuals.
In the current project, the investigators have partnered with the military-specific social media site RallyPoint (www.rallypoint.com) in order to determine how to best support at-risk veterans and servicemembers. The investigators will be testing three brief interventions aimed at connecting RallyPoint users to peer and professional resources:
Intervention 1: Peer support: This intervention will aim to improve RallyPoint users' ability to support their peers.
Intervention 2: Stigma-reduction intervention (current intervention): This intervention will focus on reducing barriers that are inhibiting members in distress from reaching out to their peers.
Intervention 3: Professional Outreach: This last intervention will aim to reduce barriers that are inhibiting members in distress from seeking professional mental health support.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Control | No intervention | –Of the individuals identified in the screener survey endorsing past year mental health symptoms, half will be randomized into the control group. The control group will not be contacted. The investigators will passively monitor their posts on RallyPoint for the duration of the study (6 months). |
| Intervention | Experimental | Behavioral: Stigma-reduction interventionOf the individuals identified in the screener survey endorsing past year mental health symptoms, half will be randomized into the intervention group. Participants in the intervention group will be recruited using a banner or pop-up message on their RallyPoint homepage or through a message on the RallyPoint site which will ask them if they have time to answer a few questions about their experiences on the RallyPoint site. If participants decline to answer these questions, a message will appear stating that they will be contacted again later, and the investigators will wait several days before contacting the potential participant again. After three attempts, participants will not be re-contacted. Participants' posts on RallyPoint will be passively monitored for 6 months after completing the intervention. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Active RallyPoint users endorsing any symptoms of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts and behaviors in the past year on a screener questionnaire will be eligible for this intervention.
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- RallyPoint users denying depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts or behaviors in the past year in the screener survey.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Stigma-reduction interventionParticipants will be presented with a list of common reasons why people report not wanting to tell other people about their mental health concerns, drawing from research in this area. Participants will be asked to click on any reason that resonates with them or about which they are interested in learning more. When they click on a particular reason, they will then be presented with psychoeducational information to allay their concerns. For example, if a participant replies that they wouldn't reach out to peers "because others don't understand what I'm going through," we might present context showing that many of their peers have had similar challenges with mental health and have found peer support helpful. Participants will be able to click on as many reasons on this list that they would like to. | Behavioural | Intervention |
Primary outcome
Number of mental health related posts
Time frame: 6 months post intervention
Whether intervention group participants are more likely to post about their personal mental health on RallyPoint after engaging with the intervention (compared to the content of their posts before receiving the intervention), and whether they are more likely to share information on their personal mental health compared with the control group. The investigators may also examine the moderating effects of participants' beliefs about mental health, which will be assessed in the screener survey.
Engagement with intervention
Time frame: During intervention
Engagement will be measured by how much time participants spend exploring the intervention and how many different reasons are explored in the intervention list.
Results and safety
The study was withdrawn before enrolling participants, so there are no results.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 13 Aug 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Stigma-reduction intervention in people with Stigma, Social and Mental Health Issue, run by Harvard University 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 1 inclusion and 1 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: withdrawn, as of the sponsor's last update on 13 Aug 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?
The study was withdrawn before enrolling participants, so there are no results.
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?
Number of mental health related posts (time frame: 6 months post intervention). The study lists 2 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 13 Aug 2025.