Community health worker support and navigation for mental health

Community Health Worker Navigation to Support Mental Health

NIH-funded research Cultura Y Arte Nativa de Las Americas · NIH-11379178

This project gives people in San Francisco’s Mission District community health workers who help them connect to mental health care and wellness activities, comparing navigator support plus services to wellness activities alone.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionCultura Y Arte Nativa de Las Americas NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (San Francisco, United States)
Project IDNIH-11379178 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

If you join, you would work with a local community health worker from CANA who helps you find and use mental health services and neighborhood wellness programs. Some participants will get structured navigation plus wellness activities while others will be offered wellness activities alone. The team will collect brief surveys, interviews, and service-use information to learn what helps with anxiety, depression, and overall well-being. The work is run with local partners and UC Riverside as part of the CAPAZ Hub and will occur in the Mission District over the project period.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Adults who live in or near San Francisco’s Mission District who are experiencing anxiety, depression, or difficulty accessing mental health services are the best fit for this work.

Not a fit: People who already have ongoing, timely mental health care or who live outside the local area are unlikely to gain direct benefit from participating.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could make it easier for neighborhood residents to get connected to mental health care and improve symptoms of anxiety, depression, and wellbeing.

How similar studies have performed: Similar community health worker navigation programs have shown promise increasing engagement with care and improving mental health outcomes in some settings, though results vary by population and program design.

Where this research is happening

San Francisco, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-14 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.