Blended Collaborative Care for Heart Failure and Co-Morbid Depression

Summary

Depression is highly prevalent among patients with heart failure (HF) and associated with lower levels of health-related quality of life and physical functioning, and higher risk of rehospitalization and mortality, and higher health costs. This Project will compare the effectiveness of a "blended" telephone-delivered collaborative care intervention for treating both HF and depression to: (1) collaborative care for HF-alone ("enhanced usual care"; eUC); and (2) doctors' "usual care" for depression (UC). If proven effective and cost-effective, the potentially more powerful, scalable, efficient "blended" care approach for treating HF and co-morbid depression could have profound implications for improving chronic illness care and stimulate development of "blended" interventions for treating other clusters of related medical conditions.

Conditions

• Heart Failure, Systolic
• Depression
• Cardiovascular Disease

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Collaborative Care for Heart Failure

Nurse care managers will provide patients with education for their heart failure to facilitate self-management for their condition. In addition, the nurse will telephone the patient to review with their medical history, medications, diet, activity and sleep patterns, and plans for follow-up medical appointments, and offer basic care coordination relative to heart failure care including assistance attaining authorization for home health services in concert with the patient's primary care physician (PCP), and follow-up appointments. After case review with a study internist, the care manager may send treatment recommendations to the patient's physician(s) regarding guideline-indicated care. Afterwards, the care manager will telephone the patient approximately every other week to monitor and promote adherence with recommended care, and suggest adjustments in treatment as applicable following discussion with the clinical team and notification of the patient's PCP and cardiologist.

BEHAVIORAL

Collaborative Care for Depression

The care manager will telephone patients randomized to "blended" care patient to review their psychiatric history including use of antidepressant pharmacotherapy, herbal supplements, and alcohol possibly used to self-medicate depressive symptoms; provide basic psychoeducation about depression and its impact on cardiac disease; recommend various self-management strategies (e.g., sufficient rest and exercise); and describe treatment options. They will include: (1) use of a workbook or computer program to enhance patients' understanding and ability to self-care; (2) initiation or adjustment of antidepressant pharmacotherapy prescribed under their primary care physicians' direction; or (3) referral to a local mental health specialist. The nurse will then telephone the patient to monitor symptoms and pharmacotherapy use, practice skills imparted through workbook assignments, promote adherence with recommended care, and suggest adjustments in treatment as applicable.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Pittsburgh

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Bruce L. Rollman, MD, MPH · University of Pittsburgh

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

21 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-02-28

Primary Completion

2018-10-31

Completion

2020-07-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations