Symposia
Disaster Mental Health
Toluwalase Ajayi, M.D.
Scripps Research Translational Institute
La Jolla, California
Edward Ramos, PhD
Director, Digital Clinical Trials
eramos@scripps.edu
La Jolla, California
Katie Baca-Motes, MBA
Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives, Co-Founder Digital Trials Center
Scripps Research Translational Institute
La Jolla, California
Athena Robinson, Ph.D.
Chief Clinical Officer
Woebot Health
San Francisco, California
Emily Durden, PhD
Director, Health Economics and Outcomes Research
Woebot Health
San Francisco, California
Ensuring individuals from diverse backgrounds are included in health research is critical to reducing health disparities and advancing health equity. Most groups historically underrepresented in health research suffer disproportionately from psychological distress and/or have less access to care. Low participation of these groups in research not only reduces the generalizability of findings but also impacts the development of effective interventions, further widening health inequalities. This presentation describes the Connect Study, an active research collaboration between Woebot Health (WH) and Scripps Research Translational Institute (SRTI), and its novel, multi-faceted approach to participant outreach and recruitment designed to ensure representation of groups historically underrepresented in health research.
Leveraging SRTI’s app-based research platform PowerMom, the Connect Study is a decentralized randomized controlled trial that will assess the feasibility and acceptability of WH’s CBT-based postpartum mental health app among a diverse sample of 450 postpartum people. Awareness of PowerMom is generated through multiple channels, many with national reach, and through community-based partners who provide services to Black/African American and Hispanic/Latina pregnant people.
Drawing from groups identified as historically underrepresented in biomedical research (UBR) by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) All of Us Research Program, the study aims to enroll at least 30% of participants identifying as members of racial or ethnic groups which are UBR, and at least 50% of participants identifying as any UBR category, including underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Groups UBR prioritized in our study include racial and ethnic minorities identifying as Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latina or Latinx, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander, those under the age of 18, residents of rural or non-metropolitan areas, those with annual household incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty, and those with less than a high school education or equivalent. The Connect Study will manage its cohort diversity by recruiting from the broader diverse PowerMom cohort and waitlisting non-UBR participants when/if necessary.