Effectiveness of an Internet-based Intervention for the Treatment of Depression

Summary

Depression is a highly prevalent disorder in Chile, generating important personal and social costs. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the internet-based program ASCENSO as an adjunct intervention for the treatment of depression. ASCENSO provides information to promote patients' self-care, it monitors reported depression symptoms providing automatized feedback and provides the possibility of booking a counseling session via chat or by phone. To evaluate the effectiveness of ASCENSO, an open, evaluator-blind, prospective, parallel-group (one intervention group and one active control group) randomized controlled trial will be implemented in one mental health center in Santiago of Chile. The sample will be composed of adults initiating treatment for depression, and who have internet access. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two study arms. Randomization will be stratified by the number of patients´ previous episodes (dichotomized into none, 1 or more), following a permuted block randomization procedure. Patients in the experimental group (n=100) will receive the usual treatment plus access to the ASCENSO program. The control group (n=100) will only receive the usual treatment. At recruitment, months 6 and 9, patients' self-reported depression symptoms and quality of life will be assessed. Additionally, adherence to treatment in terms of patients' attendance to medical controls and psychotherapy sessions will be registered for both research groups.

Conditions

• Depression

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

ASCENSO

Internet-based program: an adjunct support and monitoring system for the treatment of depression.

DRUG

Antidepressants or in combination with anxiolytics, neuroleptics or mood stabilizers.

Usual psychiatric treatment which may include drugs: antidepressant monotherapy or antidepressants in combination with anxiolytics, neuroleptics or mood stabilizers as needed, according to the psychiatric evaluation. Monthly controls during 5 months in average.

BEHAVIORAL

Psychotherapy

Usual treatment: brief psychotherapy. One session per week, a total of 9 sessions in average.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Psicomedica Clinical & Research Group, Chile

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• University Hospital Heidelberg

  collaborator OTHER

• National Fund for Research and Development in Health, Chile

  collaborator OTHER

• Instituto Milenio para Investigación en Depresión y Personalidad

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Álvaro E. Carrasco, PhD · Millennium institute for research on depression and personality (MIDAP)

• Janet C. Pérez, PhD · Millennium institute for research on depression and personality (MIDAP)

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-05-29

Primary Completion

2019-11-13

Completion

2019-11-13

Countries

• Chile

Study Locations