Usability, Relevance, and User Engagement of a Government-Sponsored and Community Co-Designed Digital Mental Health Website During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study on Latino/a/x Adults.
Wright B, Zhang L, et al. • JMIR formative research • 2026
Latino/a/x adults who preferred English were significantly more comfortable using a government-sponsored mental health website than Spanish-preferring users, and those with greater behavioral health needs were more likely to engage with the website's resources.
Key Findings
Results
Latino/a/x adults who preferred using the website in English were significantly more comfortable using the website compared with Spanish-preferring users.
English-preferring users had an odds ratio of 13.76 (P<.001) for comfort using the website compared with Spanish-preferring users
66.9% (87/130) of the baseline sample preferred to use the website in English, while 30% (39/130) preferred Spanish
This language-based disparity highlights the need to significantly improve user experience for Latino/a/x Spanish speakers
Analysis was conducted using ordered and standard logistic regression methods
Results
Adults aged 41-50 years had significantly lower odds of agreeing that the website was easy to use compared with adults aged 18-30 years.
The age comparison was between adults aged 41-50 years versus the reference group of adults aged 18-30 years
This finding suggests within-group variation among Latino/a/x adults in website usability perceptions based on age
The baseline sample was mostly female (106/130, 81.5%)
The pilot study used baseline and 4-week follow-up surveys to assess user experience
Results
Participants who found the website easier to use and those with greater behavioral health needs were more likely to perceive the website's topics as relevant.
Participants who found the website easier to use had OR 2.22 (P=.001) for perceiving the website's topics as relevant
Participants with greater behavioral health needs had OR 1.22 (P=.045) for perceiving the website's topics as relevant
These findings came from sensitivity analyses
Behavioral health needs were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item scale (GAD-2), and a COVID-19 stressors checklist
Results
Participants with higher behavioral health needs at baseline were more likely to use the website and engage with resources for anxiety or stress at follow-up.
Higher behavioral health needs at baseline were associated with OR 1.42 (P=.047) for using anxiety or stress resources at 4-week follow-up
The follow-up sample consisted of n=68 participants who completed both baseline and follow-up surveys
The baseline sample was N=131 Latino/a/x adult participants
The follow-up period was 4 weeks after baseline assessment
Methods
The Together for Wellness/Juntos Por Nuestro Bienestar (T4W/Juntos) website was a government-funded, prevention-focused digital mental health resource co-designed with community partners during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The website offered free digital mental health resources to help Californians cope with the COVID-19 pandemic
The study was guided by the Technology Acceptance Model and the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations
The study used a stratified sample of Latino/a/x adult participants with baseline N=131 and paired baseline and follow-up n=68
The study measured usability, comfort using the website, relevance of the website, and past-month use of resources
Background
Latino/a/x adults have higher rates of unmet mental health needs than other racial and ethnic groups, and digital mental health tools represent a promising solution to bridge this gap.
Digital tools such as self-help websites have demonstrated the ability to enhance mental health literacy, reduce stigma, and improve mental health symptoms
Engagement remains a critical challenge for digital mental health tools
There has been a large oversight of unique considerations for Latino/a/x adults as end users of digital mental health tools
A collaborative approach to developing resource-rich websites with trusted community organizations is described as vital for effectively reaching Latino/a/x communities
What This Means
This research studied how Latino/a/x adults in California interacted with a free government-sponsored mental health website called Together for Wellness (Juntos Por Nuestro Bienestar) that was created during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study surveyed 131 Latino/a/x adults at the start and 68 of them again after 4 weeks, asking about their mental health needs, how easy the website was to use, how comfortable they were using it, and whether they found the content relevant to them. Results showed that people who used the website in English were much more comfortable with it than those who used the Spanish version, suggesting the Spanish version needs significant improvement. Older adults (ages 41-50) also found the website harder to use than younger adults (ages 18-30).
This research also suggests that people with greater mental health needs—such as higher levels of anxiety or stress—were more likely to find the website's topics relevant and to actually use its resources over the following month. This is an encouraging finding because it suggests the website was reaching and engaging people who needed support the most. However, the language gap is a notable concern, since many Latino/a/x adults prefer Spanish and their lower comfort level with the website could prevent them from accessing helpful resources.
Overall, this study highlights both the promise and the limitations of digital mental health tools for Latino/a/x communities. This research suggests that co-designing mental health websites with trusted community organizations can help make them more culturally appropriate and effective, but that significant work is still needed to ensure Spanish-language versions are as user-friendly and engaging as English versions. Improving digital mental health resources for Spanish-speaking users could be an important step toward addressing the higher rates of unmet mental health needs in Latino/a/x communities.
Wright B, Zhang L, Meza J, Rodriguez L, Contreras I, Terán V, et al.. (2026). Usability, Relevance, and User Engagement of a Government-Sponsored and Community Co-Designed Digital Mental Health Website During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study on Latino/a/x Adults.. JMIR formative research. https://doi.org/10.2196/72952