California Healthcare Foundation partners with digital mental health company to launch new
Digital features
MIAMI, October 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — BeMe Health, a digital mental health company that provides interventions designed specifically for teens, is announcing the launch of new content tailored to its platform to serve Spanish-speaking teens.
Coinciding with National Hispanic Heritage Month, Latino/x teens can now access Spanish-language content to help them manage or identify stress, navigate life’s transitionsdeal with environmental stressors, to boost their mood, celebrate their cultureor afford first generation stress. As part of the initiative, BeMe is investing in co-creating content with teens to deliver culturally relevant messages and images that are tailored specifically for the Latino/x community.
“We are excited to launch our new Spanish-speaking teen offering to reach the Latino/x community in a new, culturally tailored way, with tremendous support from the California Health Care Foundation,” said Nicki Tessler, Chief Executive Officer of BeMe Health. “BeMe integrates evidence-based interventions with engaging content for teens, and we’re excited to expand our offering to Latino/x youth.”
Content is curated with BeMe clinical experts and tailored to the language, experiences, and culture of Latina/x youth. And it’s based on research and best practices in designing culturally appropriate digital support for the community we serve. Members of BeMe’s Teen Advisory Board, with representation from the Latino/x community, co-create the content, along with content creators such as yuanwho share personal stories that highlight their lived experiences as members of the Latino/x community.
“BeMe is combining innovation and equity in mental health care by developing tools with and for Latino/x youth who are a growing and high-need population,” said Dr. Adrian Aguilera, PhD, Associate Professor in the School of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UC San Francisco. “Many digital platforms retrospectively consider expanding their language offerings, but BeMe is uniquely building capacity from the ground up, partnering with Latino/x teens to ensure an authentic experience for users. Instead of continually expanding gaps due to the limited access that Latino/x youth typically experience from innovative tools, BeMe will actually help reduce existing disparities in health outcomes for this community.”
or QUARTER from 43 million teenagers aged 10 to 19 United States identify as Latino/x, originating from 20 Latin American nations and Spain. Statistics show that Latino/x youth are more likely to experience indicators of DEPRESSION than teenagers of other ethnic origins.
For example, CDC data from 2021 shows 46% of Latino/x high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or despair, a higher percentage than black, white, or Asian students; a statistic that has steadily increased over the past few years. During June 24–30, 2020, US adults reported significantly elevated adverse mental health conditions associated with COVID-19. Younger adults, racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers, and unpaid caregivers of adults reported experiencing disproportionately worse mental health outcomes, increased substance use, and heightened suicidal ideation. BeMe aims to fill these gaps through science-backed digital tools that engage and make Latino/x teens feel seen, understood, and not alone.
“We are excited to partner with BeMe to bring evidence-based, culturally responsive mental health services to youth in California“, he said Ella Schwartz, senior program investment officer at the California Health Care Foundation. IN Californiaapproximately one third of youth in the Medicaid health care program, Medi-Cal, identify Spanish as their primary written language. And nearly a third of the state’s counties have no child and adolescent psychiatrists, according to American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
“BeMe’s digital health app provides access to much-needed services, especially for Latino-x youth, who are more likely to need mental health services and less likely to receive them. Faced with a crisis of deteriorating mental health, we are committed to partnering with companies like BeMe to strengthen the delivery of these vital services to young people enrolled in Medicaid,” said Ms. Schwartz.
This collaborative effort between BeMe and the California Health Care Foundation will go a long way in providing culturally appropriate digital support to Latino youth across the country and closing the gap in access to and use of mental health support in a population that has historically been underserved.
About BeMe
BeMe Health is a mental health company that provides interventions designed specifically for teenagers. The BeMe app provides mobile access to content, care activities, real-time coaching, as well as clinical services and crisis support as needed. BeMe is designed entirely with teenagers in mind, meeting them where they are – on their phones – in a fun, safe and familiar mobile mode that combines science-backed digital tools with direct human connection for maximum support and impact .
About the California Health Care Foundation
California Health Care Foundation is committed to advancing meaningful and measurable improvements in the way the health care delivery system delivers care to people with California, especially those with low incomes and those whose needs are not well met by the status quo. We work to ensure people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford.
SOURCE BeMe Health
