DepressionBRAVENCT02045771
A Pilot Study to Assess the Effectiveness of BehaviouRal ActiVation Group Program in Patients With dEpression: BRAVE
A study testing Behavioral Activation and Support Group in people with Depression, run by St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton at 1 site in Canada.
Trial summary
The study's primary goal is to assess the effectiveness of behavioural activation in reducing depressive symptoms and re-integrate patients with depression into their personal and professional lives thus improving quality of life and helping in attaining and maintaining remission of depression. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Depression
- What is being tested?
- Behavioral Activation and Support Group
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 24 participants
- Where
- 1 siteCanada
- Study dates
- Mar 2014to 24 Apr 2017
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Clinical diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder
- Must be able to provide written informed consent
- Must be able to attend program sessions
Who cannot join
- Inability to understand written and spoken English
- Primary diagnosis other than Depressive Disorder
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: A Pragmatic Randomized Trial to Investigate the Effectiveness of BehaviouRal ActiVation Group Therapy in Reducing dEpressive Symptoms and Improving Quality of Life in Patients With Depression: BRAVE Pilot Study
The study's primary goal is to assess the effectiveness of behavioural activation in reducing depressive symptoms and re-integrate patients with depression into their personal and professional lives thus improving quality of life and helping in attaining and maintaining remission of depression. It is aimed at helping patients re-engage with several life areas that they may have lost in the course of depressive illness. The intervention is centred on behavioural activation (BA) with complementary interventions including recreation activities, and behavioural modifications. The study question is: in patients with depressive disorder attending a specialized hospital based mood disorders clinic, does the addition of behavioural activation program delivered in a group format improve depressive symptoms and quality of life compared to treatment as usual after 18 weeks of treatment? Study investigators hypothesize that behavioural activation is an effective treatment for depressive disorder in patients with depression.
Read the detailed description
This is a pilot study, a mixed-methods design including an open label pragmatic randomized trial and a qualitative grounded theory approach. Participants will be randomized to Behavioural Activation (BA) (intervention) or support group (control) in addition to treatment as usual. The qualitative component will be used to gather participant's experiences, beliefs and opinions about two topics: 1) the experience of participating in the behavioural activation program and 2) their evolving perceptions of their individual depressive illness and quality of life. Based on the analysis of qualitative data pertaining to the first topic, the behavioural activation program may be modified for the main trial, to respond to patient needs and feedback, in the spirit of delivering truly patient centered care. The qualitative study will involve multiple interviews and focus groups which will take place before, during, and after the pilot intervention period.
- Conditions
- Depression
- Being tested
- Behavioral Activation, Support Group
- Keywords
- Depression, Behavioral Activation
- Medical subject headings
- Depression
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Behavioral ActivationBehavioural
Behavioral activation is a therapy, which has been shown to be quite effective in the treatment of depression (Kanter, Manos et al. 2010; Martell, Dimidjian et al. 2010). Although previous therapies have focused more on the cognitive element, behavioural activation on its own has also been significantly effective for depression treatment (Jacobson, Dobson et al. 1996). The treatment works by increasing behaviours that help a patient with depression interact with an environment and providing consequences to positively reinforce "antidepressant behaviour" (Martell, Dimidjian et al. 2010).
Support GroupBehavioural
In addition to usual care, the control group will be offered a support group therapy format delivered at the same place, same visit frequency and duration of program as the intervention group. This support group is intended to simulate the intervention group format to minimize risk of biased estimate of BA effectiveness by reducing the potential placebo effect which can be seen due to frequent clinic visits and having additional attention beyond usual care.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Support Group (Control Group) | Other | In addition to usual care, the control group will be offered a support group therapy format delivered at the same place, same visit frequency and duration of program as the intervention group. This support group is intended to simulate the intervention group format to minimize risk of biased estimate of BA effectiveness by reducing the potential placebo effect which can be seen due to frequent clinic visits and having additional attention beyond usual care. Receives: Behavioral: Support Group |
| Behavioral Activation | Experimental | Originally a component of cognitive therapy, behavioural activation is the use of strategies such as activity scheduling, master/pleasure ratings, and graded task assignments to change one's perception of specific situations. It involves the use of activities to improve life situations or depressed mood. Receives: Behavioral: Behavioral Activation |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Recruitment and retention rates, data completion, and resource utilization.
Assess feasibility of the study process in terms of recruitment, retention, number of sessions completed, average group size and data completion.
Measured: Baseline, Week 18
Secondary outcomes (2)
Qualitative study feedback.
The qualitative component of the pilot study is to assess the need to modify the protocol for the main trial based on participant's feedback.
Measured: At weeks 2 and 10 of the 18 week program.
Feasibility of economic evaluation using the EuroQol economic evaluation tool; EQ-5D-5L.
EQ-5D-5L is a commonly used standardized generic measure of health and economic appraisal in a variety of clinical conditions. This will assist in the exploration of economic evaluation of the behavioral activation program in the main trial. the EQ-5D-5L consists of five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. The response to each dimension is a five-level severity ranging from "no problem" to "extreme problem".
Measured: Baseline, Week 18
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted27 Jan 2014 (estimated)
- Study startMar 2014
- Primary completion24 Apr 2017
- Study completion24 Apr 2017
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (6)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for DepressionStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 24 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Zainab Samaan (Zena), St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
- Investigators
- Zainab Samaan, MBChB PhD MRCPsych, Principal investigator, McMaster University and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02045771
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- BRAVE Pilot Trial
- Acronym
- BRAVE
- Status last verified
- Jan 2017
- First submitted
- 22 Jan 2014
- Last updated
- 9 May 2018
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
Publications
Thabane L, Ma J, Chu R, Cheng J, Ismaila A, Rios LP, Robson R, Thabane M, Giangregorio L, Goldsmith CH. A tutorial on pilot studies: the what, why and how. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2010 Jan 6;10:1. doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-10-1.
PubMed 20053272Wampold BE, Minami T, Tierney SC, Baskin TW, Bhati KS. The placebo is powerful: estimating placebo effects in medicine and psychotherapy from randomized clinical trials. J Clin Psychol. 2005 Jul;61(7):835-54. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20129.
PubMed 15827993D'Elia A, Bawor M, Dennis BB, Bhatt M, Litke K, McCabe K, Whattam J, Garrick L, O'Neill L, Simons S, Chalmers S, Key B, Goyert S, Laplante P, Vanstone M, Xie F, Guyatt G, Thabane L, Samaan Z. Feasibility of behavioral activation group therapy in reducing depressive symptoms and improving quality of life in patients with depression: the BRAVE pilot trial. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2020 May 7;6:61. doi: 10.1186/s40814-020-00596-z. eCollection 2020.
PubMed 32411381Chum J, Kim MS, Zielinski L, Bhatt M, Chung D, Yeung S, Litke K, McCabe K, Whattam J, Garrick L, O'Neill L, Goyert S, Merrifield C, Patel Y, Samaan Z. Acceptability of the Fitbit in behavioural activation therapy for depression: a qualitative study. Evid Based Ment Health. 2017 Nov;20(4):128-133. doi: 10.1136/eb-2017-102763. Epub 2017 Oct 22.
PubMed 29056608Samaan Z, Dennis BB, Kalbfleisch L, Bami H, Zielinski L, Bawor M, Litke K, McCabe K, Whattam J, Garrick L, O'Neill L, Tabak TA, Simons S, Chalmers S, Key B, Vanstone M, Xie F, Guyatt G, Thabane L. Behavioral activation group therapy for reducing depressive symptoms and improving quality of life: a feasibility study. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2016 Apr 29;2:22. doi: 10.1186/s40814-016-0064-0. eCollection 2016.
PubMed 27965841Samaan Z, Litke K, McCabe K, Dennis B, Whattam J, Garrick L, O'Neill L, Tabak TA, Simons S, Chalmers S, Key B, Vanstone M, Xie F, Guyatt G, Thabane L. A pragmatic pilot randomized trial to investigate the effectiveness of behavioural activation group therapy in reducing depressive symptoms and improving quality of life in patients with depression: the BRAVE pilot trial protocol. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2015 Nov 10;1:39. doi: 10.1186/s40814-015-0034-y. eCollection 2015.
PubMed 27965817
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 9 May 2018. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Pragmatic Randomized Trial to Investigate the Effectiveness of BehaviouRal ActiVation Group Therapy in Reducing dEpressive Symptoms and Improving Quality of Life in Patients With Depression: BRAVE Pilot Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02045771
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- BRAVE / BRAVE Pilot Trial
- Conditions
- Depression
- Keywords
- Depression, Behavioral Activation
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 24 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- St. Joseph's Healthcare HamiltonUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Mar 2014
- Primary completion
- 24 Apr 2017 (actual)
- Study completion
- 24 Apr 2017 (actual)
- First posted
- 27 Jan 2014 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The study's primary goal is to assess the effectiveness of behavioural activation in reducing depressive symptoms and re-integrate patients with depression into their personal and professional lives thus improving quality of life and helping in attaining and maintaining remission of depression. It is aimed at helping patients re-engage with several life areas that they may have lost in the course of depressive illness. The intervention is centred on behavioural activation (BA) with complementary interventions including recreation activities, and behavioural modifications. The study question is: in patients with depressive disorder attending a specialized hospital based mood disorders clinic, does the addition of behavioural activation program delivered in a group format improve depressive symptoms and quality of life compared to treatment as usual after 18 weeks of treatment? Study investigators hypothesize that behavioural activation is an effective treatment for depressive disorder in patients with depression.
Detailed description
This is a pilot study, a mixed-methods design including an open label pragmatic randomized trial and a qualitative grounded theory approach. Participants will be randomized to Behavioural Activation (BA) (intervention) or support group (control) in addition to treatment as usual. The qualitative component will be used to gather participant's experiences, beliefs and opinions about two topics: 1) the experience of participating in the behavioural activation program and 2) their evolving perceptions of their individual depressive illness and quality of life. Based on the analysis of qualitative data pertaining to the first topic, the behavioural activation program may be modified for the main trial, to respond to patient needs and feedback, in the spirit of delivering truly patient centered care. The qualitative study will involve multiple interviews and focus groups which will take place before, during, and after the pilot intervention period.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Support Group (Control Group) | Other | Behavioral: Support GroupIn addition to usual care, the control group will be offered a support group therapy format delivered at the same place, same visit frequency and duration of program as the intervention group. This support group is intended to simulate the intervention group format to minimize risk of biased estimate of BA effectiveness by reducing the potential placebo effect which can be seen due to frequent clinic visits and having additional attention beyond usual care. |
| Behavioral Activation | Experimental | Behavioral: Behavioral ActivationOriginally a component of cognitive therapy, behavioural activation is the use of strategies such as activity scheduling, master/pleasure ratings, and graded task assignments to change one's perception of specific situations. It involves the use of activities to improve life situations or depressed mood. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Clinical diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder
- Must be able to provide written informed consent
- Must be able to attend program sessions
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Inability to understand written and spoken English
- Primary diagnosis other than Depressive Disorder
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral ActivationBehavioral activation is a therapy, which has been shown to be quite effective in the treatment of depression (Kanter, Manos et al. 2010; Martell, Dimidjian et al. 2010). Although previous therapies have focused more on the cognitive element, behavioural activation on its own has also been significantly effective for depression treatment (Jacobson, Dobson et al. 1996). The treatment works by increasing behaviours that help a patient with depression interact with an environment and providing consequences to positively reinforce "antidepressant behaviour" (Martell, Dimidjian et al. 2010). | Behavioural | Behavioral Activation |
| Support GroupIn addition to usual care, the control group will be offered a support group therapy format delivered at the same place, same visit frequency and duration of program as the intervention group. This support group is intended to simulate the intervention group format to minimize risk of biased estimate of BA effectiveness by reducing the potential placebo effect which can be seen due to frequent clinic visits and having additional attention beyond usual care. | Behavioural | Support Group (Control Group) |
Primary outcome
Recruitment and retention rates, data completion, and resource utilization.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 18
Assess feasibility of the study process in terms of recruitment, retention, number of sessions completed, average group size and data completion.
2 secondary outcomes
Qualitative study feedback.
Time frame: At weeks 2 and 10 of the 18 week program.
Feasibility of economic evaluation using the EuroQol economic evaluation tool; EQ-5D-5L.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 18
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 9 May 2018.
- Background: PubMed 20053272Thabane L, Ma J, Chu R, Cheng J, Ismaila A, Rios LP, Robson R, Thabane M, Giangregorio L, Goldsmith CH. A tutorial on pilot studies: the what, why and how. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2010 Jan 6;10:1. doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-10-1.
- Background: PubMed 15827993Wampold BE, Minami T, Tierney SC, Baskin TW, Bhati KS. The placebo is powerful: estimating placebo effects in medicine and psychotherapy from randomized clinical trials. J Clin Psychol. 2005 Jul;61(7):835-54. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20129.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 32411381D'Elia A, Bawor M, Dennis BB, Bhatt M, Litke K, McCabe K, Whattam J, Garrick L, O'Neill L, Simons S, Chalmers S, Key B, Goyert S, Laplante P, Vanstone M, Xie F, Guyatt G, Thabane L, Samaan Z. Feasibility of behavioral activation group therapy in reducing depressive symptoms and improving quality of life in patients with depression: the BRAVE pilot trial. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2020 May 7;6:61. doi: 10.1186/s40814-020-00596-z. eCollection 2020.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 29056608Chum J, Kim MS, Zielinski L, Bhatt M, Chung D, Yeung S, Litke K, McCabe K, Whattam J, Garrick L, O'Neill L, Goyert S, Merrifield C, Patel Y, Samaan Z. Acceptability of the Fitbit in behavioural activation therapy for depression: a qualitative study. Evid Based Ment Health. 2017 Nov;20(4):128-133. doi: 10.1136/eb-2017-102763. Epub 2017 Oct 22.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 27965841Samaan Z, Dennis BB, Kalbfleisch L, Bami H, Zielinski L, Bawor M, Litke K, McCabe K, Whattam J, Garrick L, O'Neill L, Tabak TA, Simons S, Chalmers S, Key B, Vanstone M, Xie F, Guyatt G, Thabane L. Behavioral activation group therapy for reducing depressive symptoms and improving quality of life: a feasibility study. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2016 Apr 29;2:22. doi: 10.1186/s40814-016-0064-0. eCollection 2016.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 27965817Samaan Z, Litke K, McCabe K, Dennis B, Whattam J, Garrick L, O'Neill L, Tabak TA, Simons S, Chalmers S, Key B, Vanstone M, Xie F, Guyatt G, Thabane L. A pragmatic pilot randomized trial to investigate the effectiveness of behavioural activation group therapy in reducing depressive symptoms and improving quality of life in patients with depression: the BRAVE pilot trial protocol. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2015 Nov 10;1:39. doi: 10.1186/s40814-015-0034-y. eCollection 2015.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Zainab Samaan, MBChB PhD MRCPsych principal investigator
McMaster University and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Behavioral Activation and Support Group in people with Depression, run by St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton at 1 site in Canada.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 May 2018. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Recruitment and retention rates, data completion, and resource utilization. (time frame: Baseline, Week 18). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02045771, which also lists 6 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 9 May 2018.