Projects

Welcome to SPARX

Researchers at the University of Nottingham alongside partners and collaborators are conducting a feasibility trial of an intervention called SPARX (Smart, Positive, Active, Realistic, X-factor thoughts), a digital self-help serious game for young people with mild to moderate depression, as part of the UK Medical Research Council’s Adolescence, Mental Health and the Developing Mind programme.

A feasibility trial asks whether something can be done, should we proceed with it, and if so, how. We are also interested in what makes SPARX more effective and more engaging for young people. This trial will help to guide how to run a future randomised controlled trial to understand more about the effectiveness of SPARX.

SPARX has already been tried out and shown positive findings in New Zealand and other countries around the world. This study will see whether this is also useful for adolescents in England. In addition, SPARX has been designed as a self-directed game; however, we want to see if there is an added benefit of human support (called an “e-coach”) for adolescents completing SPARX.

The researchers in this trial have a special interest in supporting children and young people with the use of technology, and are from MindTech. MindTech is a national research centre based at the University of Nottingham’s Institute of Mental Health. 

This research has been approved by the University of Nottingham’s School of Medicine Ethics Committee (ref: FMHS 118 1120) and is supported by Medical Research Council funding (MR/T046864/1). 

SPARX is currently only available in specific geographic regions and may not be available to all viewers.