Can a smartphone app break the stigma around depression in black communities?
NCT ID NCT06316804
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Aug 12, 2026 · Updated 4 times
Summary
This study tests a video-based mobile app designed to reduce mental health stigma and medical mistrust among Black adults with moderate to severe depression or anxiety. Participants watch personal stories from others with similar experiences. The goal is to see if this approach is feasible and helps people seek care. The trial enrolls 90 Black adults aged 18-45 who own a smartphone and have not seen a mental health professional in the past year.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- video-based mobile app with personal narratives
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a scalable, low-cost tool to reduce stigma and improve mental health care access for Black adults.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small feasibility study (90 participants) with no control group, so results may not generalize. The intervention is behavioral and effects may be modest.
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
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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
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About 90 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2024
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 to 45 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. If you identify as Black American or Black immigrant 2. Experience or been diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety 3. Age 18-45 years 4. Own a smartphone with internet access 5. Have not seen a psychiatrist or therapist in the last 12 months or have not been in routine healthcare 6. English speaking Exclusion Criteria: 1. Visual, hearing, voice, or motor impairments that would prevent engagement in study procedures, 2. Diagnosis of psychotic disorder or severe suicidality for which participation would be inappropriate.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States
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