Please sign in to follow a disease.
Can a text message ease grief? UCLA tests digital support for bereaved students
NCT ID NCT07228260
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether a text-based program called Help Texts can reduce grief and depression in college students who lost a loved one in the past year. About 126 UCLA students will either receive the texts twice a week for 12 months or get a list of grief resources. Researchers will track changes in grief severity, depression, and academic performance over a year.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- text-based grief support program (Help Texts)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, low-cost way to help grieving college students feel better and stay on track academically.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study with 126 students at one university, so results may not apply to everyone. The program is a support tool, not a medical treatment, and may not help all types of grief.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 126 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Oct 2025
- Expected to finish
-
Jun 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 years and older
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Enrolled UCLA student * At least 18 years old * Experienced death of a close person in the past 12 months * Able to read English
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Bereavement are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Show contact details
Enter your email to view the contact information for this study.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Locations
-
Franz Hall
RECRUITINGLos Angeles, California, 90095, United States
Contact Email: •••••@•••••
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Families rate dignity and support in final days of cancer care
- Writing through grief: could a WhatsApp diary ease trauma for ICU families?
- Instagram vs. zoom: which platform builds better grief counselors?
- Can a simple referral ease a Parent's grief after a Child's traumatic death?
- New group therapy aims to heal earthquake grief
- New study offers hope for parents struggling with grief after Child's cancer death