Primary Care Patients With Depression for Internet-Based Social Support

Completed · Phase 1/Phase 2

Conditions studied: Depressive Disorder

In brief

The purpose of this study is to develop and pilot test two interventions that lead to at least 30% of individuals with depression presenting to primary care engaging with an Internet-based depression support group. The investigators will identify primary care patients with depression who state they have access to the Internet and are willing to consider treatment for depression. In the primary care office they will be given one of three interventions introducing them to the Internet depression support group site. The major outcome will be accessing the depression Internet support group at least once in the following four weeks. The results of this study will provide important information on whether it is possible to recruit a substantial proportion of primary care patients to engage in a potentially useful and inexpensive addition to standard depression care. If this is not possible, the likelihood of successfully completing a RCT of the effectiveness of depression Internet support groups utilizing primary care patients would be low. Researchers trying to assess the effectiveness of depression Internet support groups would have to go to alternative designs such as recruiting patients with depression as they try to join the depression Internet support groups and randomizing some to a delay in joining the group.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00886730

Run by

University of Chicago

People needed

49

Starts

2008-10-01

Expected to finish

2011-05-01

Last updated by the study team

2012-12-17

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• PHQ score of 8 or above with either depressed mood or anhedonia/and or is considering treatment for depressed mood,
• does not reject all treatment for depression,
• has not viewed or posted messages more than once in the last month on any Internet depression support group website,
• does not self-report diagnoses of bipolar disorder by a health professional,
• age 18 years or older,
• attends a primary care clinic and have visited in last 6 months, AND
• has Internet access for the next four weeks, has been on the Internet at least three times, and has used email by him/herself. We are slightly lowering the PHQ score from the usual 10 (cutoff for major depression) to 8 because we know treatment for depression is frequently initiated for those who do not meet formal criteria for major depression. However we are only including patients with PHQ scores below the usual cutoff for major depression if they are currently receiving or are considering some form of depression treatment. University of Chicago students will need to identify their primary care provider to be enrolled in the study.

You may not qualify if…

• active bipolar disorder,
• those with no access to the internet,
• those who state they are not under treatment nor would they consider any form of treatment, OR
• those considered to be at high risk of suicide attempts. These include those with past psychiatric hospitalization, past suicide attempts, bipolar disorder or score of greater than 1 on the PHQ-9 suicide assessment or who reports intent for self-harm as per assessment in the suicide prevention protocol.

Where it is running

• University of Chicago Physician's Group - PCG Maryland Avenue — Chicago, Illinois, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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