Does digital health improve equity for Latine mental health after a disaster? Evidence from a randomized trial with 2017 and 2018 hurricane survivors.

OBJECTIVE

Despite experiencing traumatic events at a higher rate, Latine populations receive mental health services at a lower rate than non-Latine Whites (Center for Behavioral Statistics & Quality, 2018). Digital mental health tools, including mobile applications ("apps") are frequently proposed as solutions for addressing care access disparities, but significant research gaps remain to identify if and how existing tools may be used to address disparities.

METHOD

We utilized data from a randomized clinical trial of Bounce Back Now (BBN), a mobile self-help app with 1,357 hurricane survivors from the 2017 and 2018 hurricane seasons. The resulting sample was 49.5% Latine, offering unique opportunities for important comparisons.

RESULTS

Across multiple components of the BBN, use was not significantly different between Latine and non-Latine participants ( > .05). Efficacy was also similar based on latent change score models ( > .05). Latine participants reported higher education, similar rates of past-month mental health access, and higher rates of past-month counseling/therapy compared with non-Latine Whites. Approximately, half of Latine and non-Latine participants with significant symptoms had not received mental health care in the last month.

CONCLUSIONS

Together, results suggest that BBN resulted in similar rates of use and efficacy, and BBN reached a substantial proportion of those who were not receiving care across both non-Latine White and Latine participants. We outline additional suggestions for enhancing the capacity for tools like BBN to help address mental health equity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).