Depression / Major Depressive DisorderIHS 2026NCT07685925
Intern Health Study 2026
A study testing Intern Health Study behavioral change mobile notification in people with Depression / Major Depressive Disorder and Mood, run by University of Michigan at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of using a reinforcement learning algorithm to determine the optimal content of a mobile health intervention (message delivered via smartphone) for improving the mood, physical activity, and sleep of medical interns. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Depression / Major Depressive Disorder, Mood, Sleep
- What is being tested?
- Intern Health Study behavioral change mobile notification
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 1,000 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 14 Apr 2026to 30 Jun 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
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
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Medical intern during the 2026-2027 internship year
- iPhone or Android phone user
Who cannot join
- None
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
About this study
The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of using a reinforcement learning algorithm to determine the optimal content of a mobile health intervention (message delivered via smartphone) for improving the mood, physical activity, and sleep of medical interns.
Read the detailed description
Due to their high workloads, less sleep and physical activity and other stressors, medical interns suffer from depression at higher rates than the general population. The goal of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a mobile health intervention intending to help prevent the degradation of health behaviors and the development of depression. The intervention sends mobile phone notifications which aim to help interns improve their mood, maintain physical activity, and obtain adequate sleep during their internship year. A reinforcement learning algorithm will use prior survey, daily mood, and wearable data to decide each day whether to send a message or not.
- Conditions
- Depression / Major Depressive Disorder, Mood, Sleep, Physical Activity
- Being tested
- Intern Health Study behavioral change mobile notification
- Medical subject headings
- Depression, Depressive Disorder, Major, Motor Activity
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Intern Health Study behavioral change mobile notificationBehavioural
The study's mobile app will be used to deliver push notifications. The notifications appear on the participant's phone lock screen. The notifications include 3 categories: mood notifications, activity notifications, sleep notifications. Mood notifications aim to increase the participant's mood. Activity notifications aim to increase the participant's physical activity. Sleep notifications aim to increase the participant's sleep duration. All notifications are categorized as one of five therapeutic approaches: 1) CBT-Behavioral, 2) CBT-Cognitive, 3) Distanced Self-Talk, 4) Mindfulness, 5) Motivational Interviewing.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Within-participant micro-randomization | Experimental | Each week a policy outcome is chosen at random with ⅓ mood, ⅓ activity, ⅓ sleep - this determines which category of message a participant will receive. Each day in the study, a reinforcement learning algorithm will determine if a participant will receive a notification that day or no notification that day. If assigned to receive a notification, 1 core message set will be randomly selected from a pool of 358 core message sets. Each core message set will be comprised of 4 messages containing comparable content, however they will be tailored based on the participant's wearable (steps, sleep) or mood data for the specified time interval (7 days, 30 days, since the start of internship) as follows: 1) no data, 2) low, 3) moderate, or 4) high. Receives: Behavioral: Intern Health Study behavioral change mobile notification |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Average daily mood
Through the mobile app, participants enter a mood score (scale 1 - 10) every day of the study. 1 corresponds to lowest mood and 10 corresponds to highest mood.
Measured: Daily, through study completion at the end of intern year (1 year)
Average daily step count
Participant's daily step counts are recorded through a fitness tracker. High step counts are considered a positive outcome as it indicates more physical activity.
Measured: Daily, through study completion at the end of intern year (1 year)
Average nightly sleep duration
Participant's nightly sleep duration (in minutes) is recorded through a fitness tracker. High sleep duration is considered a positive outcome.
Measured: Daily, through study completion at the end of intern year (1 year)
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
Prior to the start of the intervention and at quarterly intervals throughout internship year, all participants complete the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (0-27). Higher scores on the PHQ-9 correspond to a larger number of depressive symptoms (worse outcome).
Measured: Quarterly (every 3 months for 1 year)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted6 Jul 2026
- Study start14 Apr 2026
- Primary completion30 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion30 Jun 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Depression / Major Depressive DisorderStudies 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
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 1,000 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Michigan
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Srijan Sen, University of Michigan
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07685925
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- HUM00033029.26
- Acronym
- IHS 2026
- Status last verified
- Jun 2026
- First submitted
- 29 Jun 2026
- Last updated
- 8 Jul 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: De-identified survey data (baseline survey, plus quarterly survey which contains the PHQ-9) will be shared via the ICPSR repository (https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/129225/version/V1/view).
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 8 Jul 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Intern Health Study 2026
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07685925
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- IHS 2026 / HUM00033029.26
- Conditions
- Depression / Major Depressive Disorder, Mood, Sleep, Physical Activity
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Enrolling by invitation
- Enrolment
- 1,000 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of MichiganUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 14 Apr 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 30 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 6 Jul 2026 (actual)
- 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 aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of using a reinforcement learning algorithm to determine the optimal content of a mobile health intervention (message delivered via smartphone) for improving the mood, physical activity, and sleep of medical interns.
Detailed description
Due to their high workloads, less sleep and physical activity and other stressors, medical interns suffer from depression at higher rates than the general population. The goal of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a mobile health intervention intending to help prevent the degradation of health behaviors and the development of depression. The intervention sends mobile phone notifications which aim to help interns improve their mood, maintain physical activity, and obtain adequate sleep during their internship year. A reinforcement learning algorithm will use prior survey, daily mood, and wearable data to decide each day whether to send a message or not.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Within-participant micro-randomization | Experimental | Behavioral: Intern Health Study behavioral change mobile notificationEach week a policy outcome is chosen at random with ⅓ mood, ⅓ activity, ⅓ sleep - this determines which category of message a participant will receive. Each day in the study, a reinforcement learning algorithm will determine if a participant will receive a notification that day or no notification that day. If assigned to receive a notification, 1 core message set will be randomly selected from a pool of 358 core message sets. Each core message set will be comprised of 4 messages containing comparable content, however they will be tailored based on the participant's wearable (steps, sleep) or mood data for the specified time interval (7 days, 30 days, since the start of internship) as follows: 1) no data, 2) low, 3) moderate, or 4) high. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Medical intern during the 2026-2027 internship year
- iPhone or Android phone user
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- None
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intern Health Study behavioral change mobile notificationThe study's mobile app will be used to deliver push notifications. The notifications appear on the participant's phone lock screen. The notifications include 3 categories: mood notifications, activity notifications, sleep notifications. Mood notifications aim to increase the participant's mood. Activity notifications aim to increase the participant's physical activity. Sleep notifications aim to increase the participant's sleep duration. All notifications are categorized as one of five therapeutic approaches: 1) CBT-Behavioral, 2) CBT-Cognitive, 3) Distanced Self-Talk, 4) Mindfulness, 5) Motivational Interviewing. | Behavioural | Within-participant micro-randomization |
Primary outcome
Average daily mood
Time frame: Daily, through study completion at the end of intern year (1 year)
Through the mobile app, participants enter a mood score (scale 1 - 10) every day of the study. 1 corresponds to lowest mood and 10 corresponds to highest mood.
Average daily step count
Time frame: Daily, through study completion at the end of intern year (1 year)
Participant's daily step counts are recorded through a fitness tracker. High step counts are considered a positive outcome as it indicates more physical activity.
Average nightly sleep duration
Time frame: Daily, through study completion at the end of intern year (1 year)
Participant's nightly sleep duration (in minutes) is recorded through a fitness tracker. High sleep duration is considered a positive outcome.
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
Time frame: Quarterly (every 3 months for 1 year)
Prior to the start of the intervention and at quarterly intervals throughout internship year, all participants complete the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (0-27). Higher scores on the PHQ-9 correspond to a larger number of depressive symptoms (worse outcome).
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 8 Jul 2026.
- Sen Lab WebsiteLink provided by the sponsor.
- Intern Health Study Participant WebsiteLink provided by the sponsor.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. De-identified survey data (baseline survey, plus quarterly survey which contains the PHQ-9) will be shared via the ICPSR repository (https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/129225/version/V1/view).
Related trials for Depression / Major Depressive Disorder
RecruitingPhase 2
Study of Neuro-Cognitive Correlates of Pediatric Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety Disorders, Major Depressive Disorder
RecruitingPhase 2
Psilocybin-assisted Therapy for Comorbid Major Depressive Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)
Recruiting
Defining Neurobiological Links Between Substance Use and Mental Illness
Major Depressive Disorder, Substance Use Disorder
RecruitingPhase 1
Neuropharmacologic Imaging and Biomarker Assessments of Response to Acute and Repeated-Dosed Ketamine Infusions in Major Depressive Disorder
Healthy Volunteer, Major Depressive Disorder
Recruiting
Psychopharmacotherapy for Depressive Patients
Major Depressive Disorder
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.
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 Intern Health Study behavioral change mobile notification in people with Depression / Major Depressive Disorder and Mood, 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 2 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: enrolling by invitation, as of the sponsor's last update on 8 Jul 2026. 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?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
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?
Average daily mood (time frame: Daily, through study completion at the end of intern year (1 year)). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. 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 8 Jul 2026.