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Service-user Experiences of Text-based Conversations With a Computer About Their Difficulties

NCT03524196 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 17

Last updated 2019-09-25

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Mental health problems such as anxiety and depression are common. Services are finding it difficult to treat people quickly. This has led to computers being used to treat common problems.

Research has shown that around half of people who have mental health problems have more than one difficulty (e.g.low mood and worry). Many of the computer interventions available are not designed to work with more than one problem at a time. This can make them less helpful and can lead to people stopping intervention early.

A talking intervention called the Method of Levels is suitable for people with more than one problem. A new computer programme that aims to emulate this type of intervention is called Manage Your Life Online (MYLO). MYLO is accessed online. Users have conversations with MYLO by typing on a computer keyboard. MYLO aims to help people to talk freely and experience feelings related to a problem. In this way, people can find new ways of thinking about their problem. MYLO can be used as often as the person wants.

MYLO has been tested twice before with student volunteers. Participants said that it was helpful in solving an everyday problem. The investigators are not aware of any research that has tested a programme like MYLO for people experiencing mental health problems.

24 adult service users will be recruited from Self Help Services, a participating organisation in Manchester contracted to provide primary care mental health provision for NHS patients. Participants will use MYLO for a two week period.

The investigators aim to conduct a detailed examination of what questions service users find helpful and unhelpful in intervention with MYLO and whether service user perceptions are related to key mechanisms of psychological change identified in MOL. The information gathered from this study will help to increase understanding of how this type of intervention works and what makes it most helpful to service users. These findings will inform improvements to the MYLO programme to improve its acceptability to service users.

Conditions

  • Psychological

Interventions

OTHER

Manage Your Life Online (MYLO)

Manage Your Life Online (MYLO) is accessed online using a username and password. Client's type into the MYLO conversation box about a problem they are currently experiencing. MYLO operates by analysing the client's input of text for key terms and themes. It responds with questions about the problem aimed at encouraging higher level awareness. Participants will decide how often to use the MYLO programme over a two week period. This is likely to be a reasonable length of time to allow at least one use of the programme with no upper limit on usage.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Manchester

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
16 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2018-11-19
Primary Completion
2019-05-01
Completion
2019-07-11

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03524196 on ClinicalTrials.gov