Major DepressionTEXT4UNCT02872454
Psychotherapeutic Text Messaging for Depression Pilot Study
A study testing Text Messaging in people with Major Depression, run by University of Michigan at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Major depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States and is a major contributor to suicide, a leading cause of premature death. The majority of individuals with depression do not receive adequate pharmacologic or psychotherapeutic treatment due to difficulty accessing services or stopping treatment… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Major Depression
- What is being tested?
- Text Messaging
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 190 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Apr 2015to Apr 2016
- 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
- US resident
- Age 18 or older
- PHQ-9 screening score of 10 or more
- Has a personal cellular phone with a text messaging plan that would allow for as many as 200 additional text messages per month, and agreement that the participant would be responsible for any related charges
- Has a valid e-mail address
- Fluent in English
Who cannot join
- Unable to provide voluntary informed consent for any reason
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of Michigan Inpatient Psychiatry Unit
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109
About this study
Major depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States and is a major contributor to suicide, a leading cause of premature death. The majority of individuals with depression do not receive adequate pharmacologic or psychotherapeutic treatment due to difficulty accessing services or stopping treatment due to side effects, non-response, or the stigma associated with attending mental health clinic visits. Mobile health information technology services, such as text messaging, have the potential to provide effective self-management support for depression to nearly every adult in the US with depression. Guided self-help via text messaging has been shown to be effective for improving a range of health behaviors as well as symptoms of depression. However, previously studied depression text messaging services have not utilized the breadth of psychotherapeutic techniques shown to be effective for depression nor have they attempted to tailor the psychotherapeutic content to the individual in order to improve acceptability and outcomes. Advanced artificial intelligence methods (e.g., reinforcement learning) offers the capability to weed out ineffective messages and to target messages to individuals in order to substantially improve program effectiveness. This pilot study is the first step in towards developing an artificially intelligent text message service for depression.
The specific aims of the study are to: 1) demonstrate the feasibility of recruiting and enrolling participants from the general population of US adults and delivering a text-messaging intervention for depression, 2) determine whether there are differences in the perceived helpfulness of messages derived from different psychotherapeutic treatment modalities, and whether these differences are moderated by participant characteristics (e.g., age, gender, depression symptom severity), 3) determine whether messages derived from different psychotherapeutic treatment modalities or their perceived helpfulness are associated with changes in depression symptoms, and whether these relationships are moderated by participant characteristics.
- Conditions
- Major Depression
- Being tested
- Text Messaging
- Keywords
- Major Depression, Text Messaging, Guided Self-Help
- Medical subject headings
- Depressive Disorder, Major
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Text MessagingBehavioural
Each week, enrolled participants will receive daily text messages from one of three randomly assigned psychotherapeutic modalities-cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, and techniques based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-for a total of 12 weeks. The messages were developed, reviewed, and refined by a multidisciplinary team of experienced therapists, including social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Text Messaging | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Text Messaging |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Intervention Feasibility
Study team's ability to deliver the intervention as a measure of feasibility. Measured by at least 50% of patients who complete the screening questionnaire choosing to enroll in the study, at least 70% of participants completing follow-up measures at 12 weeks, and the study meeting its enrollment goal of 250 patients in 12 months.
Measured: 6 and 12 weeks post-baseline
Secondary outcomes (2)
Perceived Helpfulness of Messages
Patient's belief that the program will be helpful as measured by the Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire and patient's rating of the program at 12 weeks post-baseline as measured by the Study Experience Questionnaire.
Measured: baseline and12 weeks post-baseline
Change in Depression Symptoms
Patient's current level of depressive symptoms as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).
Measured: 6 and 12 weeks post-baseline
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted19 Aug 2016 (estimated)
- Study startApr 2015
- Primary completionApr 2016
- Study completionApr 2016
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Major DepressionStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of MichiganThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- 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
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 190 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Michigan
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Paul Pfeiffer, University of Michigan
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02872454
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- HUM00090058
- Acronym
- TEXT4U
- Status last verified
- Aug 2016
- First submitted
- 1 Sep 2015
- Last updated
- 19 Aug 2016
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 19 Aug 2016. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Psychotherapeutic Text Messaging for Depression Pilot Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02872454
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- TEXT4U / HUM00090058
- Conditions
- Major Depression
- Keywords
- Major Depression, Text Messaging, Guided Self-Help
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 190 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of MichiganUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Apr 2015
- Primary completion
- Apr 2016 (actual)
- Study completion
- Apr 2016 (actual)
- First posted
- 19 Aug 2016 (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.
Major depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States and is a major contributor to suicide, a leading cause of premature death. The majority of individuals with depression do not receive adequate pharmacologic or psychotherapeutic treatment due to difficulty accessing services or stopping treatment due to side effects, non-response, or the stigma associated with attending mental health clinic visits. Mobile health information technology services, such as text messaging, have the potential to provide effective self-management support for depression to nearly every adult in the US with depression. Guided self-help via text messaging has been shown to be effective for improving a range of health behaviors as well as symptoms of depression. However, previously studied depression text messaging services have not utilized the breadth of psychotherapeutic techniques shown to be effective for depression nor have they attempted to tailor the psychotherapeutic content to the individual in order to improve acceptability and outcomes. Advanced artificial intelligence methods (e.g., reinforcement learning) offers the capability to weed out ineffective messages and to target messages to individuals in order to substantially improve program effectiveness. This pilot study is the first step in towards developing an artificially intelligent text message service for depression.
The specific aims of the study are to: 1) demonstrate the feasibility of recruiting and enrolling participants from the general population of US adults and delivering a text-messaging intervention for depression, 2) determine whether there are differences in the perceived helpfulness of messages derived from different psychotherapeutic treatment modalities, and whether these differences are moderated by participant characteristics (e.g., age, gender, depression symptom severity), 3) determine whether messages derived from different psychotherapeutic treatment modalities or their perceived helpfulness are associated with changes in depression symptoms, and whether these relationships are moderated by participant characteristics.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Text Messaging | Experimental | Behavioral: Text Messaging |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- US resident
- Age 18 or older
- PHQ-9 screening score of 10 or more
- Has a personal cellular phone with a text messaging plan that would allow for as many as 200 additional text messages per month, and agreement that the participant would be responsible for any related charges
- Has a valid e-mail address
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Unable to provide voluntary informed consent for any reason
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Text MessagingEach week, enrolled participants will receive daily text messages from one of three randomly assigned psychotherapeutic modalities-cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, and techniques based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-for a total of 12 weeks. The messages were developed, reviewed, and refined by a multidisciplinary team of experienced therapists, including social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists. | Behavioural | Text Messaging |
Primary outcome
Intervention Feasibility
Time frame: 6 and 12 weeks post-baseline
Study team's ability to deliver the intervention as a measure of feasibility. Measured by at least 50% of patients who complete the screening questionnaire choosing to enroll in the study, at least 70% of participants completing follow-up measures at 12 weeks, and the study meeting its enrollment goal of 250 patients in 12 months.
2 secondary outcomes
Perceived Helpfulness of Messages
Time frame: baseline and12 weeks post-baseline
Change in Depression Symptoms
Time frame: 6 and 12 weeks post-baseline
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 19 Aug 2016.
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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.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Text Messaging in people with Major Depression, run by University of Michigan at 1 site in United States.
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 6 inclusion and 1 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 19 Aug 2016. 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 United States. 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?
Intervention Feasibility (time frame: 6 and 12 weeks post-baseline). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
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 19 Aug 2016.