Published Research

The evidence for traditional peer support’s efficacy abounds. Now, there’s also mounting peer-reviewed research on Supportiv’s unique digital model of peer support via real-time professionally moderated, live small group chats, and the clinical outcomes and return-on-investment (ROI) achieved.

Viewpoint: Digital Peer Support As An Approach To TechQuity In Mental Health

Mental Health and Social Inclusion
Date: July 29, 2026
Link

Publication highlights:

Digital peer support (DPS) is examined through the lens of the five dimensions of TechQuity:

Availability: 24/7 availability of on-demand, live services can provide immediate support without needing scheduling.

Accessibility: Fast entry to peer support conversations, easy-to-understand system and accessible language make mental health support easy to navigate. The lack of clinical hurdles allows anyone to seek support.

Accommodation: The text-based nature of Supportiv allows for discreet use in a variety of settings such as work, school, or during caregiving or other responsibilities, as well as with mobility limitations.

Affordability: Low out-of-pocket cost or sponsored services may reduce financial barriers to mental health support, and avoid insurance co-pays, transportation costs, and time away from work or other responsibilities.

Acceptability: Anonymous participation and trained moderator facilitation can reduce stigma around seeking mental health support, maintain a safe environment, and encourage supportive peer discussions.

This viewpoint article makes the case that DPS can help close socioeconomic, cultural, and accessibility gaps in accessing mental health support by providing equitable, anonymous, and affordable mental health support, 24/7.

Live-moderated peer conversations can provide validation, empathy, a space for expression, social connection, and support coping mechanisms without requiring a mental health provider, appointment, formal diagnoses, insurance, or disclosing personal information. DPS may be especially helpful for people that experience mild to moderate emotional distress that can benefit from informal care.

Use of Digital Peer Support for Employee Well-Being: A Retrospective Analysis Across Five Large Employers

JMIR Human Factors
Date: April 7, 2026
Link

Publication highlights:

A retrospective analysis of 24,818 employee chats, across five large employers spanning multiple industries, examined measurable outcomes from Supportiv’s synchronous, moderated digital peer support with real-time resource sharing. Sentiment changes in employee conversations were analyzed using AI-driven natural language processing, examining eight sentiments (loneliness, sadness, stress, anxiety, depression, despair, helplessness, and optimism).

Employee users saw improved emotional outcomes even in the span of a single session, and most employees used DPS outside typical business hours, highlighting the gap in typical mental health care and the need for 24/7 accessible mental health support.

Notable results include:

Optimism increased by 77.92% on average during a single Supportiv session, averaging 38 minutes

Loneliness reduced by 46.18%

Stress reduced by 45.04%

Sadness reduced by 44.79%

Depression reduced by 39.99%

Anxiety reduced by 39.15%

Despair reduced by 39.44%

Helplessness reduced by 37.95%

The addition of realtime resource sharing through Supportiv’s patented technology compounded positive emotional outcomes by an additional 8.8% on average

68% of DPS conversations occurred outside traditional business hours

Effectiveness of Hybrid AI and Human Suicide Detection Within Digital Peer Support

Journal of Clinical Medicine
Date: March 3, 2026
Link

Publication highlights:

This study examined the effectiveness of Supportiv’s hybrid solution combining a proprietary AI suicidal ideation (SI) detection model with real-time human moderation within 449,946 user sessions from January–December 2024.

Key paper findings based on passive and active SI instances identified using a hybrid AI and human moderator solution with post-hoc LLM verification:

Active and passive SI occurred in 3.19% of live chats

The proprietary AI model identified SI faster than humans in 77.52% of passive and 81.26% of active cases, with 90.26% agreement

Within 71.3 seconds after AI detection and moderator agreement, moderators had enacted crisis question protocols to determine active vs. passive SI and referred 5,472 active SI users (1.21%) to higher-tier crisis care

Users participating in live chats with SI present saw average reductions of 29.26% in depression, 26.85% in loneliness, 25.34% in despair, and 22.30% in helplessness, with optimism increasing on average 40.40%

Exploring the Impact of Digital Peer Support Services on Meeting Unmet Needs Within an Employee Assistance Program: Retrospective Cohort Study

JMIR Human Factors
Date: February 25, 2025
Link

Publication highlights:

The paper documents a retrospective cohort study of individuals who used Supportiv digital peer support, offered by the MINES Employee Assistance Plan.

Key paper findings based on embedding Supportiv within the EAP’s offerings include:

An average of 2.07 fewer therapy sessions per participant (p < .001) on a five therapy session EAP model, within a matched cohort sample, with a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.77)

Strong reductions in negative emotional sentiment for participants: sadness reduced by 57.50%, loneliness reduced by 55.04%, and stress reduced by 56.47%

Over 73% of peer support users engaged in the 24/7 service outside of the regular business hours of 8am-5pm, when clinical care is frequently unavailable

Role of Synchronous, Moderated, and Anonymous Peer Support Chats on Reducing Momentary Loneliness in Older Adults: Retrospective Observational Study

JMIR Formative Research
Date: October 25, 2024
Link

Publication highlights:

Using Supportiv’s moderated online peer-to-peer support solution produced statistically significant improvements in Senior loneliness and optimism for a Medicare plan, even in a single live, moderated chat.

Of particular interest, after just 8 and 9 minutes, respectively, participants began to see:

Up to a 49.43% decrease in loneliness

Up to a 33.71% increase in optimism

Much stronger improvements in group chat conditions vis 1:1 interactions

“Digital peer support interventions for emotional struggles contrast the usual provider-based clinical care models because they offer more accessible, direct support for empowerment, highlighting the users’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness.”

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