Trial reportPloS one2013
Self-Help for Depression via E-mail: A Randomised Controlled Trial of Effects on Depression and Self-Help Behaviour.
Trial report in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01399502 (Promotion of Self-help Strategies for Depression), which is not on this map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Promotion of Self-help Strategies for Depression
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Time-Dependent Changes in Depressive Symptoms Among Control Participants in Digital-Based Psychological Intervention Studies: Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Toward the Design of Evidence-Based Mental Health Information Systems for People With Depression: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2017Pooled it
- Facebook enhances antidepressant pharmacotherapy effects.TheScientificWorldJournal · 2014Trial
- Toward Digital Self-Monitoring of Mental Health in the General Population: Scoping Review of Existing Approaches to Self-Report Measurement.JMIR mental health · 2025Article
- Measures of Daily Activities Associated With Mental Health (Things You Do Questionnaire): Development of a Preliminary Psychometric Study and Replication Study.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Jamaican adolescents' receptiveness to digital mental health services: A cross-sectional survey from rural and urban communities.Internet interventions · 2020Article
- Exploring Challenges in Conducting E-Mental Health Research Among Asian American Women.Asian/Pacific Island nursing journal · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSelf-help or self-management strategies are commonly used to deal with depression, but not all are thought to be helpful. A previous study found that sub-threshold depression symptoms were improved by an e-mail intervention that encouraged the use of evidence-based self-help strategies.
aimTo investigate whether these e-mails were effective for adults with a range of depression symptomatology including major depression.
methodThe study was a parallel-group randomised controlled trial. Adult participants with any level of depressive symptoms were recruited over the internet from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States. Participants were randomised to receive a series of e-mails either promoting the use of evidence-based self-help strategies or containing depression information as a control. E-mails were sent automatically twice a week for six weeks. Depression symptoms were assessed with the self-rated Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-9).
results1736 participants with a wide range of symptom severity were recruited and assigned to active (n = 862) and control (n = 874) groups. However, there was a significant attrition rate, with 66.9% lost to follow-up at post-intervention. Both groups showed large improvements in depression symptoms overall, with no significant difference in improvement at the end of the study (mean difference in improvement 0.35 points, 95% CI: -0.57 to 1.28, d = 0.11, 95% CI: -0.06 to 0.27), although there was a small effect at the study mid-point. Results were similar for the sub-group of participants with major depression. The active group showed small to moderate improvements in self-help behaviour (d = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.23 to 0.56).
conclusionsThese results suggest that the e-mails were able to increase participants' use of evidence-based self-help, but that this did not improve depression more than an attention control. CLINICALTRIALSGOV: NCT01399502.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.