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Evaluating the PolarUs App in People With Bipolar Disorder
Sponsor: University of British Columbia
Summary
Our team recently pilot tested a new mobile app, PolarUs, co-designed with people who live with bipolar disorder (BD), to support BD self-management and quality of life (QoL) measurement. An initial study suggested the app improved QoL and mood scores over time among participants in Canada and the United States. This project aims to fully assess whether PolarUs improves QoL and mood outcomes in diverse people with BD living in Canada and the United States. To achieve this, we have (1) culturally and linguistically adapted the English version of PolarUs into French, Mandarin, and Spanish, and (2) are now conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess whether PolarUs (in all 4 languages) improves QoL and mood outcomes in adults living with BD in Canada and the United States. Participants will: 1. Attend an eligibility assessment interview to confirm their eligibility to participate. 2. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned (like flipping a coin) to one of two groups: Group 1 - Receive access to the PolarUs app through participants' Android (Google) or iOS (Apple) mobile device for a period of 12 weeks. Group 2 - Receive access to the PolarUs app after a 12-week waiting period. During the waiting period, participants will only receive study assessments. 3. Participants will complete study assessments at the beginning and end of the 12-week period and, where appropriate, monthly during the study period. We aim to recruit approximately 480 participants from Canada and the United States to take part in the study. We would also like to understand how people with bipolar disorder use and engage with the app.
Official title: Evaluating the Efficacy of the PolarUs App on Quality of Life Outcomes in People With Bipolar Disorder
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
504
Start Date
2026-11
Completion Date
2028-12
Last Updated
2026-10-22
Healthy Volunteers
No
Interventions
PolarUs Mobile App
The PolarUs app functions as a self-guided, self-management aid to support people with BD in accessing and applying evidence-informed self-management strategies. The app is organized according to the Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder (QoL.BD) scale, the first and only BD-specific QoL measure. PolarUs contains psychoeducational content across 14 QoL domains and 100 evidence-informed self-management strategies. Over 500 resources have been curated from international evidence-informed sources and developed in-house to support self-management. We have now culturally and linguistically adapted and advanced the PolarUs app in English, French, Mandarin and Spanish to increase accessibility to diverse people living with BD in Canada and the United States. Design of the PolarUs app and cultural/linguistic adaptation processes have been facilitated through advisory groups composed of researchers, healthcare providers, and people with lived experience of BD.
Locations (1)
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada