Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28651589›Full record

Trial reportBMC psychiatry2017

Behavioural activation by mental health nurses for late-life depression in primary care: a randomized controlled trial.

Noortje Janssen, Marcus J H Huibers, Peter Lucassen, Richard Oude Voshaar, Harm van Marwijk, Judith Bosmans, Mirjam Pijnappels, Jan Spijker, Gert-Jan Hendriks

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC psychiatry, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 13% 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, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Behavioural activation therapy for depression in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Functional improvement by behavioural activation for depressed older adults.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2023
    Trial
  5. Help-seeking experiences of older adults with a diagnosis of moderate depression.International journal of mental health nursing · 2019
    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

9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Noortje JanssenBehavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Marcus J H HuibersDepartment of Clinical Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Peter LucassenDepartment of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Richard Oude VoshaarUniversity Medical Center Groningen, Interdisciplinary Center for Psychopathology of Emotion regulation (ICPE), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Harm van MarwijkCentre for Primary Care, Institute for Population Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Judith BosmansDepartment of Health Sciences and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, VU university Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Mirjam PijnappelsMOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Jan SpijkerBehavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Gert-Jan HendriksBehavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. g.hendriks@propersona.nl.ORCID 0000-0001-5529-3275
Radboud University Nijmegen · NLVrije Universiteit Amsterdam · NLAmsterdam Public Health · NLManchester Academic Health Science Centre · GBUniversity Medical Center Groningen · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDepressive symptoms are common in older adults. The effectiveness of pharmacological treatments and the availability of psychological treatments in primary care are limited. A behavioural approach to depression treatment might be beneficial to many older adults but such care is still largely unavailable. Behavioural Activation (BA) protocols are less complicated and more easy to train than other psychological therapies, making them very suitable for delivery by less specialised therapists. The recent introduction of the mental health nurse in primary care centres in the Netherlands has created major opportunities for improving the accessibility of psychological treatments for late-life depression in primary care. BA may thus address the needs of older patients while improving treatment outcome and lowering costs.The primary objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of BA in comparison with treatment as usual (TAU) for late-life depression in Dutch primary care. A secondary goal is to explore several potential mechanisms of change, as well as predictors and moderators of treatment outcome of BA for late-life depression. METHODS/

designCluster-randomised controlled multicentre trial with two parallel groups: a) behavioural activation, and b) treatment as usual, conducted in primary care centres with a follow-up of 52 weeks. The main inclusion criterion is a PHQ-9 score > 9. Patients are excluded from the trial in case of severe mental illness that requires specialized treatment, high suicide risk, drug and/or alcohol abuse, prior psychotherapy, change in dosage or type of prescribed antidepressants in the previous 12 weeks, or moderate to severe cognitive impairment. The intervention consists of 8 weekly 30-min BA sessions delivered by a trained mental health nurse. DISCUSSION: We expect BA to be an effective and cost-effective treatment for late-life depression compared to TAU. BA delivered by mental health nurses could increase the availability and accessibility of non-pharmacological treatments for late-life depression in primary care.

trial registrationThis study is retrospectively registered in the Dutch Clinical Trial Register NTR6013 on August 25th 2016.

Indexed as

Mental HealthNursesAdultAntidepressive AgentsCognitive Behavioral TherapyCost-Benefit AnalysisDepressionExerciseFemaleHealth Care CostsHumansNetherlandsPrimary Health CareTreatment OutcomeAntidepressive AgentsBehavioural activationDepressive symptomsLate-life depressionOlder adultsPrimary care

Identifiers

PMID28651589
PMCPMC5485578
OpenAlexW2721581840

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.