Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21226960›Full record

Trial reportTrials2011

Protocol for a randomised controlled trial investigating self-help email messages for sub-threshold depression: the Mood Memos study.

Amy J Morgan, Anthony F Jorm, Andrew J Mackinnon

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Trials, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.9field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Interventions to improve return to work in depressed people.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Amy J MorganOrygen Youth Health Research Centre, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ajmorgan@unimelb.edu.au
Anthony F Jorm
Andrew J Mackinnon
Orygen Youth Health · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSub-threshold depression is common, impairs functioning, and increases the risk of developing major depression. Although psychological treatments have been investigated for sub-threshold depression, they are costly. A less costly alternative could be an educational health promotion campaign about effective self-help for depression symptoms. The aim of the study is to test the efficacy of a low-cost email-based mental health promotion campaign in changing self-help behaviour and preventing more severe depression in adults with sub-threshold depression. METHODS/

designThe project is a randomised controlled trial of an automated preventive email-intervention aimed at people with sub-threshold depression. Adults aged 18+ with sub-threshold depression (as measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9), who are not already receiving professional treatment for depression, are eligible for admission to the study. Internet users will sign up via the study website http://www.moodmemos.com and be randomly allocated to receive emails twice weekly for six weeks containing either self-help coping advice or general information about depression as a control. Outcomes will be assessed at the start, midpoint, and end of the intervention, as well as six months later. Outcomes assessed include symptoms, incidence of major depression, psychological distress, social and occupational functioning, coping strategies, and coping self-efficacy. The primary hypothesis is that the Mood Memo emails containing coping strategies will reduce depression symptoms and be better at preventing major depression than the control emails that contain general information about depression. DISCUSSION: Promotion of actions an individual can take to prevent physical disease is a technique often used in public health. This study applies this approach to mental health, and explores whether a low-cost, easily disseminated email-based campaign can improve self-help coping behaviour and prevent depression in adults with sub-threshold depression.

trial registrationAustralia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ANZCTR): ACTRN12609000925246.

Indexed as

Adaptation, PsychologicalElectronic MailHealth PromotionResearch DesignAffectDepressionDisease ProgressionFeasibility StudiesHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansMajor Depressive DisorderMotivationPsychiatric Status Rating ScalesSelf EfficacySeverity of Illness IndexSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID21226960
PMCPMC3027121
OpenAlexW2171201899

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.