App content supports mental health for kids at Children’s Health
How Children’s Health and WriterGirl collaborated to create an extensive library of app-based mental health content to support kids of all ages.
Situation
In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of mental health in children, adolescents and teens. In response to this need, in the Fall of 2021, Children’s Health, a leading pediatric healthcare provider, partnered with WriterGirl to develop content for an app that supports the mental health needs of kids of all ages. The app, called BeeHive, empowers kids to find mental health information, engage in activities and check in with themselves and their friends in an effort to improve their emotional and behavioral health.
Challenge
One of the challenges the Children’s team faced was writing age appropriate content to engage young children, teens and everyone in between. When downloading the app, the user enters their birth month and year so the app can provide content specific to their age. Children’s needed to develop hundreds of pieces of healthcare content and sought a partner with experience – from research and ideation to writing and editing of content, videos, infographics and engaging daily activities tailored to specific age groups.
“It was hard to take a one-size fits all approach in the app,” says Ronak Assadi, program manager for Network Development & Innovation at Children’s Health. “Elementary school kids need information presented in a different way than high schoolers.”
With funding from the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) and United Way, Children’s needed to launch the app fast. And the team knew it wouldn’t have a second chance to make a first impression. “The first version of any app is always a little rocky. But we knew we’d lose users if we didn’t neatly organize the content or if the app’s look and feel was off,” says Assadi.
Solution
Children’s Health partnered with WriterGirl from 2021-22 to create a range of app-based content. Having already collaborated on other projects, including expansion of the Children’s Health and Wellness Library, web content, physician bios and marketing collateral, the WriterGirl team had a deep understanding of Children’s style, voice and audience.
Children’s had a number of existing content pieces that, while accurate, were not written or engaging for children. WriterGirl evaluated this existing content and turned it into kid-friendly, digestible and engaging content. The writing and strategy team also developed new content based on important topics affecting kids, including being unhoused, substance use, bullying, depression and self-care. The result was new videos, infographics and mobile-friendly articles designed to engage and empower kids of all ages.
“The WriterGirl team was incredible, taking what we had before and giving us a much better after,” says Assadi. “We’re so happy with what they created.”
And the content WriterGirl created found legs outside the app, too. The Children’s behavioral health team has begun using the content in sessions with children and parents.
“I just cannot rave enough about WriterGirl and the entire organization. Everyone I’ve met has been intelligent and easy to work with. They delivered ideas we hadn’t even considered. It felt like a true collaboration, not just delivering on a task list. WriterGirl provided top-tier service — it felt like they were part of our internal team.”
— Ronak Assadi, program manager, Network Development & Innovation, Children’s Health
Results
The BeeHive app launched with 120 pieces of content from WriterGirl — and that number continues to grow.
“There’s so much behavioral and mental health education needed,” says Assadi. The Children’s team continues to engage families to determine the topics they want to see in the app. Then they collaborate with WriterGirl to bring the most impactful content to life.
New topics include healthy relationships for kids and their families and friends, LGBTQIA information and more. Working with WriterGirl, Children’s has developed an evolving tool — the Beehive — serving children in and out of the Children’s Health system.
About Children’s Health
Children’s Health is one of the largest pediatric healthcare providers in the country and is the leading pediatric health system in North Texas. Through their academic affiliation, they are a leader in life-changing treatments, innovative technology and ground-breaking research. Children’s Health is ranked in all ten pediatric specialties U.S. News and World Report’s 2022-2023 Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll.
