Randomized Trial of Depression Follow-up Care by Email

NCT ID: NCT01449890

Last Updated: 2015-06-04

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 92 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2012-09-30
• Study Completion Date: 2013-11-30

Brief Summary

The primary objective of this study is to test in a randomized effectiveness trial if e-mail delivered cognitive behavioural treatment is an effective follow-up care approach in the treatment of depression under clinically representative conditions.

Detailed Description

Depression belongs to the most prevalent mental disorders and often goes along with a high burden of disease. Although the efficacy and the effectiveness of psychological treatments for depressive disorders have been demonstrated, there remains the problem of maintaining the benefits achieved during the initial treatment phase. Therefore options of follow-up care have to be considered. Since access to psychotherapeutic treatments is limited and costly, internet-based interventions can offer a feasible opportunity for follow-up care in order to enhance the long-term effectiveness of psychotherapy.

Conditions

Depressive Disorders

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

E-mail follow up care

After having terminated inpatient CBT patients receive follow up care by email for 12 weeks (on average one contact per week). The follow up care aims at supporting the patients in continuing exercises they have learned during the initial treatment phase in order to cope with depression, e.g. integrating positive activities in their all day life or monitoring the interdependence of cognition, emotion and behaviour.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

E-mail follow up care

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

After having terminated inpatient CBT patients receive follow up care by email for 12 weeks (on average one contact per week). The follow up care aims at supporting the patients in continuing exercises in order to cope with depression.

Treatment as usual

After having terminated inpatient CBT patients receive treatment as usual within routine care.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

E-mail follow up care

After having terminated inpatient CBT patients receive follow up care by email for 12 weeks (on average one contact per week). The follow up care aims at supporting the patients in continuing exercises in order to cope with depression.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

internet based psychotherapy; web based psychotherapy

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Depressive disorder: F32.0-F32.2; F33.0-F33.2; F34.1 according to ICD-10
• Precursory CBT
• Internet access

Exclusion Criteria

• No knowledge of the German language
• Risk of suicide
• Acute psychosis or psychotic symptoms
• Established concurrent in vivo CBT after discharge from inpatient CBT

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

PD Dr. phil. Birgit Watzke

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Birgit Watzke, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf Centre of Psychosocial Medicine Department of Medical Psychology

Locations

University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, Department of Medical Psychology

Hamburg, City state of Hamburg, Germany

Countries

Germany

Other Identifiers

DRV0422/00-40-65-50-24

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id