Mental health resilience program updates

With the support of HIMSS and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles Innovation Studio, MotiSpark developed a program that leverages evidence-based interventions into an accessible interactive video series designed to improve mental health resilience in Latinx youth and young adults.

Latinx youth focused motivational video nudges teach self-care skills with community voices and evidenced based interventions 📱✨➹

UPDATES:
Our controlled feasibility pilot was interrupted by the pandemic so have been allowing public access to the program at regular intervals as we update the program to better address the needs of living through a global pandemic and massive social challenges.

BACKGROUND:
In late February of 2020, MotiSpark began onboarding a controlled group of Latinx youth to a 30-60 day pilot program (baseline using PHQ-2 and GAD-2 along with bespoke questions.) But, as Covid-19’s impact was becoming apparent, we realized that it would not be possible to measure the software’s impact on anxiety and depression. So, we decided to limitedly open up the program with the goals of helping users and refining the program based on usage. To date, thousands of MotiSparks have been sent with promising self-reported results. We are eager to deploy an ever-more refined pilot with clinical partners and have been in discussion with groups like www.aviva.org. We are thrilled to have Dr. Cassandra Sanchez with CHLA ready to help us design and deploy clinical programs.

The program is based on MotiSpark’s existing evidence-based behavioral intervention techniques along with population specific elements. We would like to recognize the following entities for their research, hands-on knowledge and important current contributions to improving the lives of Latinx youth:

The program aims to reduce stress and anxiety with a free, easy to use mental health and wellness program.

The program uses evidence-based therapeutic approaches in a social media-like experience that motivates patients with personalized, timely video nudges that educate, motivate and inspire. The program is SMS-based, linking to browser-based video providing greater reach and engagement since there is no app to download. 

“MotiSpark users create and then watch stories of happier, healthier futures where they are the heroes overcoming their obstacles,” said MotiSpark founder and CEO Ariel McNichol. “What we learned working with large health plans, provider systems and Medicaid patients is that our radically different approach keeps patients highly engaged with their doctors, their goals and the desired outcome. We want to open up the power of the platform to help everyone cope with the pandemic. We are all in this together.”

With MotiSpark, physicians are able to instantly personalize ongoing patient care. MotiSpark’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program helps health care providers deliver connected care services to patients at their homes or mobile locations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When I am in the exam room with a patient, I have a few moments to offer a few words that I hope will inspire and instruct,” said Ellen Rothman, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center in Los Angeles, California. “MotiSpark is brilliant — it offers that encouragement in the moment when it is most needed, when the patient is managing his or her illness in real life, far from the doctor’s office.”

Patient feedback from prior MotiSpark pilots is that patients felt less lonely, saying that MotiSpark videos made them feel like someone cared about them. With the COVID-19 pandemic, health risks like anxiety, depression, and obesity are at all-time highs while access to support and engagement with programs are critically low across all demographics. MotiSpark’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program offers low-investment contextual visual interventions shown to improve health and lead to better health outcomes. 


The goals of this program are to:

  • Improve anxiety and depression levels

  • Improve self-care knowledge and practice

  • Build intrinsic motivation and sense of hope/purpose

  • Bring awareness to trusted online and local resources

Features

  • Easy to enroll - NO DOWNLOADS. Works on any phone with text-messaging

  • Delivers evidenced-based interventions in a visual, interactive manner (Motivational Interviewing, CBT, Compassion Focused Therapy, Implicit Priming and more.) 

  • Provides educational and contextually relevant links to resources on a variety of topics, eg., diabetes prevention with links to recipes, snack ideas, volunteer opportunities, online workouts, positive social media accounts, sleep podcasts +,. anger management and Crisis Text Hotlines…

  • Can feature video greetings and messages from clinics, schools, therapists or any other referral party along with relevant links.

Click to enroll in the program

ariel mcnichol