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Emotional DisorderNCT04304911

UP in Blended Format for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in the Spanish National Health System

A study testing Blended intervention (UP-APP) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TAU) in people with Emotional Disorder and Anxiety Disorders, run by Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón at 1 site in Spain.

Unknown status

Status not confirmed. The sponsor has not verified this record for over two years, so it may be out of date.

Official record
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Trial summary

The present randomized, controlled trial will compare the efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and implementation characteristics of a blended intervention based on the Unified Protocol (UP) for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders against the treatment as usual in a sample of patients with emotional disorders in… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
What is being tested?
Blended intervention (UP-APP) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TAU)
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
92 participants
Where
1 siteSpain
Study dates
1 Mar 2023to Jun 2025
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

  • Principal diagnosis of Emotional disorder (Evaluated by MINI interview)
  • The patient is over 18 years of age
  • The patient is fluent in the language in which the therapy is performed (Spanish in the present study)
  • To have a Smartphone
  • Patients taking pharmacological treatment for their ED will be asked to maintain the same dosages and medications for at least 3 months prior to enrolling in the study and during the whole treatment
  • The patient signs the informed consent form.

Who cannot join

  • The patient presents a severe condition that would require to be prioritized for treatment, these include a severe mental disorder (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or an organic mental disorder), suicide risk at the time of assessment, or substance use in the last three months
  • The patient has previously received 8 or more sessions of psychological treatment with clear and identifiable Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles within the past 5 years.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Jorge Osma, Ph.D contact

978645390

osma@unizar.es

Spain1 site, 1 recruiting
  • Hospital Comarcal de Vinaròs

    Vinaròs, Valencia, 12500

    Vanessa

    Recruiting

Other trials in Spain

About this study

Official title: Implementation, Effficacy and Cost-effective Study of the Unified Protocol in Blended Format for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in the Spanish National Health System

The present randomized, controlled trial will compare the efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and implementation characteristics of a blended intervention based on the Unified Protocol (UP) for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders against the treatment as usual in a sample of patients with emotional disorders in the Spanish National Health System.

Read the detailed description

Emotional disorders (EDs;including anxiety disorders, unipolar mood disorders, and related disorders) are the most prevalent mental disorders in the general population. In Spain, anxiety disorders and mood disorders affect approximately two million (4.1%) and two and half million (5.2%) individuals, respectively. As a result of their prevalence in the society, EDs have become an alarming health problem due to their associate costs. These disorders have a direct cost of 22.000 million euros (500 euros per capita and year). The total expense of these disorders entails 2.2% of the Gross Domestic Product in Spain. Due to the excessive demand for treatment, mental health services of our National Health System (NHS) are collapsed with large waiting lists, which results in a great difficulty to dedicate the recommended time to attend patients who require psychological treatment. Therefore, it is needed to find solutions for the effective and cost-effective treatment of EDs in our NHS. In the last years, several solutions have been proposed to alleviate this important health problem.

The general objective of this project is to contribute to the dissemination of evidence-based psychological treatments in our Public National Health System for the most prevalent mental disorders in our society, emotional disorders (EDs). The investigators will study the efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and implementation characteristics (acceptability, usability, and utility) of a blended intervention which will enhance face-to-face treatment by incorporating an app-based intervention onsite treatment. Based on the most recent clinical advances in the treatment of EDs, the investigators will use the Unified Protocol (UP) for transdiagnostic treatment of EDs in the blended intervention (UP-APP). The investigators hypothesize that the blended intervention will be superior to the treatment as usual (face-to-face, specific-disorder treatment) because patients in the UP-APP condition will continue working with the app at home between sessions. In sum, this project is composed of three connected studies: a validation study in a clinical sample of patients with EDs, two pilot studies to help develop the app based on the UP principles, and a multicenter, randomized and controlled clinical trial that will be conducted by 12 clinical psychologist working in 8 different provinces in Spain.

Being tested
Blended intervention (UP-APP), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TAU)
Keywords
Emotional Disorder, Unified Protocol, Public health, Transdiagnostic approach
Medical subject headings
Anxiety Disorders, Depressive Disorder

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Blended intervention (UP-APP)Behavioural

    Unified Protocol (UP) for transdiagnostic treatment of EDs in the blended intervention (UP-APP)

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TAU)Behavioural

    TAU group that carries out Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in an individual format

Study groups in NCT04304911
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
UP in blended formatExperimentalClinicians will follow the UP therapist manual, 2nd edition, recently translated by Osma and Crespo (13,14). The same contents through a digital material (video and audio) will be integrated in the UP-APP. The program can be developed in a range of 12 to 16 sessions. The UP includes 8 modules
Receives: Behavioral: Blended intervention (UP-APP)
Treatment as usual (TAU)Active comparatorCognitive Behavioral Therapy in individual format is the treatment of choice (TAU) by psychologists and psychiatrists at the collaborating Public Mental Health Centers and Primary Care Centers, together with pharmacological treatment (i.e., antidepressants and / or anxiolytics).
Receives: Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TAU)

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Overall Depression Severity and Impairment Scale (ODSIS)

    Consist of five items that evaluate the frequency and the intensity of depressive symptoms and their interference with the person's work or school life and social life. The total score range from 0 to 20 and responses use a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 to 4.

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  2. Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS)

    The scale presents five items. These items are related with the frequency and intensity of anxiety symptoms and their interference with the person's work or school life and with social life. All items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (I didn't feel anxious) to 4 (Constant anxiety).

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  3. Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5 (ADIS-V)

    Diagnostic interview

    Measured: Enrolment and Up to 12 months

Secondary outcomes (14)
  1. The Multidimensional Emotional Disorder Inventory (MEDI)

    A self-report measure that includes only 49 items and enables to quickly assess the main transdiagnostic dimensions of Emotional disorders

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  2. Health-related quality of life (EuroQol-5D)

    Evaluation through 5 items of quality of life.

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  3. Adaptation of Client Satisfaction Questionnaire [CSQ-8]

    An adaptation of 13 items that measures quality of the intervention and its components, discomfort experienced during treatment and the experience of participating in a blended format.

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  4. Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ)

    Is a 39-item questionnaire that measures five facets of mindfulness. responses use a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never or very rarely true) to 5 (very often or always true)

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  5. Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ)

    Consists of 10 items covering two factors: Cognitive Reappraisal (six items) and Expressive Suppression (four items). Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from ''Strongly disagree'' to ''Strongly agree'

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  6. Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS)

    Consists of 36-item of six facets of emotion regulation. Items are rated on a scale of 1 ("almost never [0-10%]") to 5 ("almost always [91-100%]"). Higher scores indicate more difficulty in emotion regulation

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  7. Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ)

    The CEQ consists of six items scored on a scale of 1 to 9 and measures treatment expectancy and credibility of justification for use in clinical outcome studies.

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  8. System Usability Scale (SUS)

    Composed of 10 statements that are scored on a 5-point scale of strength of agreement [0-100]

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  9. Client Service Receipt Inventory (CSRI)

    Evaluate the emergency service (total visits), general medical inpatient hospital admissions (total days); outpatient health care services (total visits to general practitioner, nurse, social worker, psychologist, and other community health care professionals).

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  10. Working Alliance Inventory-Short (WAI-S)

    Evaluate the therapeutic or working alliance

    Measured: During psychological treatment

  11. Quality-adjusted Life Years (QALYs)

    Measure of disease burden, including both the quality and the quantity of life lived. It is used in economic evaluation to assess the value of medical interventions.

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  12. UP-APP outcomes

    Number and time of use of the UP-APP, videos viewed and exercises completed

    Measured: During psychological treatment

  13. Evaluation of the UP-APP

    16 items that evaluate the opinion about the app's aesthetics, handling and components

    Measured: Up to 12 months

  14. Evaluation questionnaire of the Unified Protocol (UP) modules

    Consists of 7 items that evaluate the usefulness of the program to improve emotional regulation and the usefulness of each of the skills that are worked on in the different UP modules

    Measured: Up to 12 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted12 Mar 2020
  2. Study start1 Mar 2023
  3. Primary completionMar 2024 (estimated)
  4. Study completionJun 2025 (estimated)

Resources

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
Model description
All consecutive patients with emotional disorders attending any of the collaborating centers will be asked to participate in the present study. Once inclusion criteria are met, each patient will be randomly assigned to one of the two experimental groups: Treatment as Usual (TAU) or UP-APP. Randomization will be performed by a researcher unrelated to the study using a computer-generated sequence (Randomizer). Randomization will be stratified according to the severity of the primary measures of depression and anxiety, using the recommended cutoff in the manuals. Stratification will be made to ensure a comparable proportion of severely depressed and anxious individuals in each group. For each subgroup (i.e., severe or less severe depression and/or anxiety), participants will be randomly assigned to the UP-APP or to TAU.
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Participant
Enrolment
92 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04304911
Sponsor's protocol ID
IPES/PI20/00697
Status last verified
Sep 2023
First submitted
9 Mar 2020
Last updated
25 Sep 2023
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No: Under request

Publications

  • Martinez-Garcia L, Schaeuffele C, Peris-Baquero O, Torres Alfosea MA, Osma J. Acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of the Unified Protocol in blended format in the Spanish public mental health system: Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Psychother Res. 2026 Jun;36(5):987-1004. doi: 10.1080/10503307.2025.2541707. Epub 2025 Aug 12.

    PubMed 40792553
  • Osma J, Martinez-Garcia L, Peris-Baquero O, Navarro-Haro MV, Gonzalez-Perez A, Suso-Ribera C. Implementation, efficacy and cost effectiveness of the unified protocol in a blended format for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders: a study protocol for a multicentre, randomised, superiority controlled trial in the Spanish National Health System. BMJ Open. 2021 Dec 31;11(12):e054286. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-054286.

    PubMed 34972770

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Blended intervention (UP-APP) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TAU) in people with Emotional Disorder and Anxiety Disorders, run by Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón at 1 site in Spain.

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 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: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 25 Sep 2023. 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 Spain. 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?

Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Jorge Osma, Ph.D (978645390, osma@unizar.es), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Overall Depression Severity and Impairment Scale (ODSIS) (time frame: Up to 12 months). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. 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 NCT04304911, which also lists 2 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 25 Sep 2023.

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