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Depressive; Episode, MajoreFICASYNCT04839822

Efficacy of Edupression.Com® in Depressive Patients

A study testing edupression.com®, Health tips and Surveys in people with Depressive; Episode, Major and Recurrent Depressive Disorder, Current Episode Moderate, run by Medical University of Vienna at 1 site in Austria.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The aim of the study is to investigate the efficacy and adherence of the digital self-help programme edupression.com®. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 65 years
What is being tested?
edupression.com®, Health tips and Surveys
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
250 participants
Where
1 siteAustria
Study dates
28 Apr 2021to 4 Jul 2023
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 to 65 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Male/female
  • Age 18-65 years
  • ICD-10 diagnosis F32.0 \& F32.1, depressive episode mild \& moderate \& F33.0 \& F33.1, Recurrent depressive disorder mild \& moderate (M.I.N.I.)
  • PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) score ≥5
  • ability to be managed as outpatients
  • adherence to the study protocol incl. willingness and minimal experience to understand instructions for edupression.com®

Who cannot join

  • previous or concurrent major medical or neurological illness
  • any history of non-response to either psychotherapy/eHealth interventions (min. 3 month) or medication (min. 6 weeks, adequate antidepressive drug dosing) or any kind of therapy resistance
  • participants in the active phase of other interventional studies
  • ICD-10 diagnosis of substance dependence within the past year, except for caffeine or nicotine or current substance abuse
  • ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar affective disorder, persistent mood disorders, or an anxiety disorder
  • being acutely suicidal either indicated by a score ≥3 on item 9 (suicidal thoughts) on the PHQ-9 or according to the investigator´s opinion
  • failures to comply with the study protocol or to follow the instructions of the investigating team

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Austria1 site
  • Medical University of Vienna

    Vienna, 1090

Other trials in Austria

About this study

Official title: Efficacy of the Digital Self-help Programme Edupression.Com® Evaluated Within a Randomized Controlled Trial in Mild to Moderate Unipolar Depressive Patients

The aim of the study is to investigate the efficacy and adherence of the digital self-help programme edupression.com®.

Read the detailed description

The edupression.com® self-help app is an evidence-based low-level psychosocial intervention, which a can be used as as monotherapy as first-line treatment in mild to moderate depressive patients or as complimentary treatment independent of previous therapy response or depression severity. The two foundations of edupression.com® are evidence-based psychoeducation with CBT elements, as well as self-monitoring in the mood chart. Evidence for the efficacy of this approach stems from a large body of literature regarding eHealth (healthcare services provided electronically via the internet) applications in depression.

This study's aim is to investigate edupression.com®'s capability to improve the illness course directly by reducing depressive symptoms (primary objective) and indirectly by fostering positive health care effects (secondary objective). The reduction of relapse risk and other preventive effects expected from other studies are beyond the time frame of this study. Beyond the evaluation of edupression.com®, this study could elucidate the general role of psychoeducation and mood tracking in online mental health to improve depression symptoms and adherence.

Objectives: The primary objective is to test the clinical efficacy (at least 50% symptom reduction over a 3-month period) of edupression.com® in mild to moderate unipolar depressed patients. The secondary objective is to demonstrate positive health care effects within this 3-month trial period such as psychoeducation, quality of life, patient empowerment and other factors.

Study Design: The study design of this clinical trial is consistent with a monocentric, prospective, longitudinal, randomized controlled clinical trial. Patients, currently diagnosed with a mild to moderate major depressive episode (MDE) will be invited to use the digital self-help programme.

Following the inclusion procedure, patients will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to two different treatment arms (A vs. B). Participants of the intervention arm will get full access to the edupression.com® website, while participants of the control arm will get access to a control version of edupression.com® limited to medically useful tips, that have not been shown to be effective in improving depressive symptoms in randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Being tested
edupression.com®, Health tips, Surveys, Popular psychological interventions
Keywords
Depression, Internet-Based Intervention, Mobile Applications
Medical subject headings
Depressive Disorder, Depression

What participants receive

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

  • edupression.com®Other

    Edupression.com® is an evidence-based self-help program that was developed for the treatment of mild to moderate unipolar depression. It is based on two core foundations, psychoeducation with elements of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and a mood chart. Both foundations are registered as a medical product. As such, detailed risk management documentation includes probability and severity of adverse events. Moreover, detailed strategies such as warnings were implemented in the software and documented accordingly.

    It can be used on a PC as well as on mobile devices (browser, App) at any time.

  • Health tipsOther

    Interventions that do not directly target depression: general health tips (diet, lifestyle, smoking, etc.), occupational health interventions (back pain prevention, breaks,...), etc.

  • SurveysDiagnostic test

    Quizzes and surveys for course monitoring (including suicidality), but without extensive reports.

  • Popular psychological interventionsOther

    Popular psychological interventions, which have not been shown to be effective in studies: Affirmation phrases, motivational sayings and quotes (known also from calendars), tests (e.g., Rorschach interpretation), exercises (emotion recognition of faces), multimedia content (pleasant music, landscape images, interviews of famous people with depression), etc.

Study groups in NCT04839822
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Intervention Arm: Psychoeducation with elements of CBT & mood chart.ExperimentalPatients will receive full access to edupression.com® immediately after inclusion. This intervention includes all medical mechanisms of action of edupression.com®: Psychoeducation with elements of CBT (learning content and exercises) and a mood chart (depression symptom monitoring).
Receives: Other: edupression.com®
Active control arm: (occupational) interventions and progress monitoring.Active comparatorThese patients will also receive an edupression.com® account with different content. This content will be limited to medically useful tips, that have have not been shown to be effective in improving depressive symptoms in RCTs. Patients of both arms will be instructed to use chat functions to contact study personnel and to fill out questionnaires and tests to collect outcome and additional measures.
Receives: Other: Health tips; Diagnostic Test: Surveys; Other: Popular psychological interventions

What is being measured

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

  1. Therapy response

    Depression severity change from baseline to end of study (EOS) [Time Frame: 3 months], compared between treatment vs. control arm measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire. Patient Health Questionnaire scores range from 0 to 27, with a higher score being associated with a higher level of depression.

    Measured: 3 months

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. Change of Depression Literacy

    Depression Literacy change from baseline to end of study (EOS) [Time Frame: 3 months], compared between treatment vs. control arm measured with the Depression Literacy scale (D-Lit).

    Measured: 3 months

  2. Change of Quality of Life

    Change of quality of life in four domains from baseline to End of Study (EOS) [Time Frame: 3 months] measured with the World Health Organization quality of life scale (WHOQOL-BREF).

    Measured: 3 months

  3. Change of Disease Model

    Change of disease model from baseline to End of Study (EOS) [Time Frame: 3 months] measured with the brief version of the illness perception questionnaire (B-IPQ).

    Measured: 3 months

Timeline

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

  1. First posted9 Apr 2021
  2. Study start28 Apr 2021
  3. Primary completion11 Apr 2023
  4. Study completion4 Jul 2023

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
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Participant
Enrolment
250 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04839822
Sponsor's protocol ID
2471/2020
Acronym
eFICASY
Status last verified
Aug 2023
First submitted
7 Apr 2021
Last updated
3 Aug 2023
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Huckvale K, Nicholas J, Torous J, Larsen ME. Smartphone apps for the treatment of mental health conditions: status and considerations. Curr Opin Psychol. 2020 Dec;36:65-70. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.04.008. Epub 2020 May 4.

    PubMed 32553848
  • Park C, Zhu J, Ho Chun Man R, Rosenblat JD, Iacobucci M, Gill H, Mansur RB, McIntyre RS. Smartphone applications for the treatment of depressive symptoms: A meta-analysis and qualitative review. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 2020 Feb;32(1):48-68.

    PubMed 31675391
  • Andrews G, Basu A, Cuijpers P, Craske MG, McEvoy P, English CL, Newby JM. Computer therapy for the anxiety and depression disorders is effective, acceptable and practical health care: An updated meta-analysis. J Anxiety Disord. 2018 Apr;55:70-78. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.01.001. Epub 2018 Feb 1.

    PubMed 29422409
  • Cuijpers P, Donker T, Johansson R, Mohr DC, van Straten A, Andersson G. Self-guided psychological treatment for depressive symptoms: a meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2011;6(6):e21274. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021274. Epub 2011 Jun 21.

    PubMed 21712998
  • Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001 Sep;16(9):606-13. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x.

    PubMed 11556941
  • Etkin A, Patenaude B, Song YJ, Usherwood T, Rekshan W, Schatzberg AF, Rush AJ, Williams LM. A cognitive-emotional biomarker for predicting remission with antidepressant medications: a report from the iSPOT-D trial. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015 May;40(6):1332-42. doi: 10.1038/npp.2014.333. Epub 2014 Dec 30.

    PubMed 25547711
  • Ben-Haim MS, Williams P, Howard Z, Mama Y, Eidels A, Algom D. The Emotional Stroop Task: Assessing Cognitive Performance under Exposure to Emotional Content. J Vis Exp. 2016 Jun 29;(112):53720. doi: 10.3791/53720.

    PubMed 27405091
  • Schroder J, Sautier L, Kriston L, Berger T, Meyer B, Spath C, Kother U, Nestoriuc Y, Klein JP, Moritz S. Development of a questionnaire measuring Attitudes towards Psychological Online Interventions-the APOI. J Affect Disord. 2015 Nov 15;187:136-41. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2015.08.044. Epub 2015 Aug 28.

    PubMed 26331687

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing edupression.com®, Health tips and Surveys in people with Depressive; Episode, Major and Recurrent Depressive Disorder, Current Episode Moderate, run by Medical University of Vienna at 1 site in Austria.

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 7 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 3 Aug 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 Austria. 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?

Therapy response (time frame: 3 months). 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 NCT04839822, which also lists 8 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 3 Aug 2023.

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