Minimal Effect of Culturally Informed Marketing Messages on Engagement With a Digital Anxiety Intervention Among Latinx Individuals

This study evaluated the effectiveness of different culturally informed marketing messages to encourage enrollment in a fully remote digital mental health intervention (DMHI) for anxiety. Spanish-speaking Latinx individuals (N=1200) with a history of anxiety were randomly assigned to receive a standard recruitment message via email, or one of three messages with an added culturally informed message feature: added positive user testimonials; noted goal of using the DMHI to support the individual’s relationships; or reference to somatic symptoms of anxiety (e.g., dizziness, rapid heart beat) instead of referencing “anxiety.” Participants could then click a link in the email to visit the DMHI website, enroll, and start the first session. We examined the effects of message features, language of the marketing materials (Spanish vs. English), and participant language (Spanish/English bilingual vs. monolingual Spanish) on rates of site clicks, enrollment, and starting the first session. Across messages, 8.3% of patients clicked a link to visit the DMHI website, but none of the message features, nor message language or participant language, were significantly associated with rates of site clicks, enrollment, or starting the first session. Results suggest that culturally informed, email-based recruitment messages may not be sufficient on their own to promote DMHI engagement among Spanish-speaking Latinx individuals.