Principal investigator at CHU Sainte-Justine
Patricia Conrod, PhD
Research project summary
Evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and short-term impact of PreVenture when delivered to youth across Canada through an online platform.
Who can participate?
To be eligible, youth must:
- Be between the ages of 11 to 18 (inclusively)
- Provide consent/assent (depending on age and mode of recruitment, consent from a parent or guardian will also be required)
- And either:
- Referred to the study by the CHU Sainte-Justine Psychiatry Clinic (e.g.: on a wait list for other services, accessing the Centre Jeunesse and/or have previously received services from the CHU Sainte-Justine Psychiatry Clinic) OR
- Attend a school in Montreal that is involved in the study OR
- Reside in the greater Montreal area and are interested in taking part in the study.
Who cannot participate?
Participants cannot currently be in treatment at the CHU Sainte-Justine Psychiatry Clinic.
What should they expect in terms of process and engagement?
Youth who provide informed consent will be invited to:
- complete a pre-and 6-month post web-based survey on their health behaviours (45 minutes)
- participate in two online PreVenture workshops (90 minutes each)
- provide their feedback on their experience of the online program via a short questionnaire (10 minutes).
Why participate?
By participating in the PreVenture workshops, youth can learn about life skills and reaching their goals. Research has also shown that youth who participate in the PreVenture workshops report reduced mental health problems over a two year period, relative to youth who do not. We hope that participants will benefit from these positive outcomes.
The input of participants will also be of great value in evaluating a new method of delivering an intervention that promotes the mental health of young people.
Risks and inconvenients
There are no physical risks to being involved in this study or in PreVenture workshops. Potential psychological risks are minimal and could involve possible discomfort from responding to questions about one’s emotional state.
More details
The COVID-19 pandemic has indicated the need to support youth mental health at the time of physical distancing and social isolation. To meet this need, Dr. Patricia Conrod and the PreVenture team have adapted the PreVenture program to be fully delivered online.
We are conducting a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of this online delivery model. The study will compare the experiences of 500 teens attending high schools or accessing mental health services across Canada over the span of one year.
Project team
- Dr. Patricia Conrod, PhD (lead investigator)
- Drs. Baudouin Forgeot d’Arc and Evangelia Lila Amirali (co-investigators, psychiatry department)
- Ranmalie Jayasinha, PhD
- Marion Audet
- Nora Fripp
- Audrey Livet, PhD (coordinating team)
Partnership
This study is funded by the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation.
Contact information
Ranmalie Jayasinha, PhD
ranmalie.jayasinha@umontreal.ca
If you wish to find out more, please visit our website and click the “Sign Up!” button or email onlinepreventurestudy@gmail.com to contact the study team.