Evidence and research
A reading room for partners, volunteers, professionals, and funders who want to see the reasoning behind OpenACAI programs, forms help, social connection work, and GAMHON.
Source finder
Find the proof behind a program claim.
Filter the research map by program, source type, or plain words. Copy a packet for a partner conversation without sending search text or source choices to OpenACAI.
7 evidence areas and 26 sources shown.
Program map
What the evidence is allowed to support.
Each area below names the practical claim OpenACAI can make and the guardrail that keeps the page honest.
Social connection and isolation
OpenACAI can say social connection matters for health and day-to-day support.
The site should not promise that a game, chat, event, or volunteer contact treats loneliness, depression, anxiety, or any medical condition.Games, play, and mental well-being
OpenACAI can say structured, low-pressure games may support calm, engagement, and social connection for some people.
GAMHON must keep crisis messaging clear, avoid clinical claims, and require moderation before online multiplayer spaces are opened.Arts, participation, and health
OpenACAI can say arts and creative participation are part of a broader health and belonging conversation.
Creative activities should be offered as supportive participation, not as a substitute for therapy, medication, crisis support, or medical care.Forms, benefits access, and plain language
OpenACAI can say plain-language form support and preparation checklists can reduce confusion before someone contacts an agency or helper.
OpenACAI should not imply that it approves benefits, replaces agency instructions, gives legal advice, or stores sensitive identifiers in public tools.Digital access and technology help
OpenACAI can say digital access and digital skills affect whether people can reach services.
OpenACAI should not claim that technology coaching alone solves poverty, disability access, broadband affordability, or agency backlog problems.Crisis safety and referral boundaries
OpenACAI can point people toward 988 and emergency services when the website is not an appropriate support channel.
OpenACAI should not present the website, games, contact form, or partner messages as monitored crisis services.Website quality and grant readiness
OpenACAI can say the website is maintained against published Google nonprofit website quality expectations.
Website readiness does not guarantee grant approval; the Google Ads account also has keyword, conversion, CTR, ad group, sitelink, and survey duties.Evidence
Games, play, and mental well-being
OpenACAI treats games as a possible doorway to connection and skill practice, not as a replacement for licensed care.
Use this to say: OpenACAI can say structured, low-pressure games may support calm, engagement, and social connection for some people.
Do not use this to say: GAMHON must keep crisis messaging clear, avoid clinical claims, and require moderation before online multiplayer spaces are opened.
Evidence
Arts, participation, and health
Creative and recreational participation can support belonging, routine, confidence, and communication when used carefully.
Use this to say: OpenACAI can say arts and creative participation are part of a broader health and belonging conversation.
Do not use this to say: Creative activities should be offered as supportive participation, not as a substitute for therapy, medication, crisis support, or medical care.
Evidence
Forms, benefits access, and plain language
The forms library exists because people should be able to understand what to gather, what a form is asking, and where the official application lives.
Use this to say: OpenACAI can say plain-language form support and preparation checklists can reduce confusion before someone contacts an agency or helper.
Do not use this to say: OpenACAI should not imply that it approves benefits, replaces agency instructions, gives legal advice, or stores sensitive identifiers in public tools.
Evidence
Digital access and technology help
OpenACAI technology support is meant to help people use the tools that already gatekeep everyday life: forms, accounts, email, uploads, and service portals.
Use this to say: OpenACAI can say digital access and digital skills affect whether people can reach services.
Do not use this to say: OpenACAI should not claim that technology coaching alone solves poverty, disability access, broadband affordability, or agency backlog problems.
Evidence
Crisis safety and referral boundaries
Public pages, games, and forms need clear safety language so a visitor knows when OpenACAI is not the right path.
Use this to say: OpenACAI can point people toward 988 and emergency services when the website is not an appropriate support channel.
Do not use this to say: OpenACAI should not present the website, games, contact form, or partner messages as monitored crisis services.
Evidence
Website quality and grant readiness
The public site is maintained around original content, easy navigation, mobile performance, HTTPS, working contact and donation paths, and privacy-safe measurement.
Use this to say: OpenACAI can say the website is maintained against published Google nonprofit website quality expectations.
Do not use this to say: Website readiness does not guarantee grant approval; the Google Ads account also has keyword, conversion, CTR, ad group, sitelink, and survey duties.
How partners can use this page
Use the links to review the evidence base before proposing a program, event, referral flow, school activity, professional collaboration, or GAMHON pilot.
How OpenACAI uses research
Research helps set boundaries, language, safety practices, and evaluation questions. The site avoids claims that are not backed by real work or appropriate evidence.
What this page is not
This is not a medical library, legal advice page, grant approval claim, or proof that one activity works for every person. It is a public trail for why the site is designed the way it is.
Safety rules for games and accounts
GAMHON and account features use a separate Community Safety page so social features stay gated until moderation, reporting, blocking, and youth-safety controls are ready.
Suggest a source
Partners can send a public research link or official guidance source through the contact page with a short note explaining why it matters to OpenACAI service design.
Evidence
Social connection and isolation
GAMHON and community support work start from a practical public health point: isolation can affect health, safety, and follow-through.
Use this to say: OpenACAI can say social connection matters for health and day-to-day support.
Do not use this to say: The site should not promise that a game, chat, event, or volunteer contact treats loneliness, depression, anxiety, or any medical condition.