Trial reportBMC psychiatry2017
Randomized controlled pilot trial of supportive text messages for patients with depression.
Trial report in BMC psychiatry, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 5 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 71 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.
Supportive Text Messages to Reduce Mood Symptoms and Problem Drinking in Patients With Primary Depression or Alcohol Use Disorder - Randomised Controlled Pilot Trials
Enhancing Peer-support Experience for Patients Discharged From Acute Psychiatric Care: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial
Supportive Text Messaging Versus Supportive E-mail Messaging for Patients With Major Depressive Disorder - A Non-Inferiority Randomized Trial
Reducing Inpatient Readmission Rates for Patients Discharged From Acute Psychiatric Care in Alberta Using Peer and Text Message Support: Protocol for an Innovative Supportive Program
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation With and Without Text4Support for the Treatment of Resistant Depression: Patient-centered Multicentral Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial. Protocol.
Who cites it
71 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 111 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness and Acceptance of Technology-Based Psychological Interventions for the Acute Treatment of Unipolar Depression: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Applying the Electronic Health Literacy Lens: Systematic Review of Electronic Health Interventions Targeted at Socially Disadvantaged Groups.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Pooled it
- Association of Supportive Text Messaging With Health Service Utilization Costs Following Psychiatric Admission: Secondary Economic Analysis of a Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial.JMIR mental health · 2026Trial
- Evaluating User Engagement and Satisfaction With Digital Mental Health Interventions: Randomized Controlled Trial of a Text Messaging Program and e-Mental Health Resources.JMIR human factors · 2026Trial
- The prevalence and correlates of low resilience in patients prior to discharge from acute psychiatric units in Alberta, Canada.BMC psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Randomized Controlled Trial of a Text-Based Smokeless Tobacco Cessation Intervention for Rural and Medically Underserved Communities.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2024Trial
- Comparing Email Versus Text Messaging as Delivery Platforms for Supporting Patients With Major Depressive Disorder: Noninferiority Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2024Trial
- Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Measures for Patients Discharged from Acute Psychiatric Care: Four-Arm Peer and Text Messaging Support Controlled Observational Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Technology-Enhanced Peer Support for Depression in Older Adults: Single-Arm Mixed Methods Feasibility Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Translating innovation into impact: a national policy dialogue on scaling and integrating evidence-based supportive text messaging into Canada's mental health care systems.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Care Delivery Strategies for Anxiety, Depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Tourette Syndrome to Improve Health Outcomes in Children and Youth.Child psychiatry and human development · 2025Review
- Psychological health and wellness and the impact of 6 weeks and 3 months supportive text messaging program (Wellness4MDs) among physicians and medical learners in Canada: a longitudinal study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Resilience, personal recovery, and quality of life for psychiatric in-patients prior to hospital discharge: demographic and clinical determinants.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Article
- Psychological Health and Wellness and the Impact of a Supportive Text Messaging Program (Wellness4MDs) Among Physicians and Medical Learners in Canada: Protocol for a Longitudinal Study.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Prevalence and Correlates of High Stress and Low Resilience among Teachers in Three Canadian Provinces.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Dealing with Diversity in Digital Psychological Interventions for Young People: A Structured Review.ACI open · 2024Review
- Mitigating Psychological Problems Associated with the 2023 Wildfires in Alberta and Nova Scotia: Six-Week Outcomes from the Text4Hope Program.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Evaluating the 3-month post-intervention impact of a supportive text message program on mental health outcomes during the 2023 wildfires in Alberta and Nova Scotia, Canada.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDepression is projected to be the primary cause of disability worldwide by 2030. In a recent survey, the most commonly cited unmet need among 42.4% of depressed Albertans was the lack of sufficient, accessible, and affordable counselling. Our aim was to test the efficacy of a supportive text messaging mobile health intervention in improving treatment outcomes in depressed patients.
methodsWe performed a single-rater-blinded randomized trial involving 73 patients with Major Depressive Disorder. Patients in the intervention group (n = 35) received twice-daily supportive text messages for 3 months while those in the control group (n = 38) received a single text message every fortnight thanking them for participating in the study. The primary outcome of this study was: "Mean changes in the BDI scores from baseline".
resultsAfter adjusting for baseline BDI scores, a significant difference remained in the 3 month mean BDI scores between the intervention and control groups: (20.8 (SD = 11.7) vs. 24.9 (SD = 11.5), F (1, 60) = 4.83, p = 0.03, ηp2 = 0.07). The mean difference in the BDI scores change was significant with an effect size (Cohen's d) of 0.67. Furthermore, after adjusting for baseline scores, a significant difference remained in the 3 month mean self-rated VAS scores (EQ-5D-5 L scale) between the intervention and control groups, 65.7 (SD = 15.3) vs. 57.4 (SD = 22.9), F (1, 60) =4.16, p = 0.05, ηp2 = 0.065. The mean difference in change mean self-rated VAS scores was also statistically significant with an effect size (Cohen's d) of 0.51.
conclusionsOur findings suggest that supportive text messages are a potentially useful psychological intervention for depression, especially in underserved populations. Further studies are needed to explore the implications of our findings in larger clinical samples.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02327858 . Registered 24 December 2014.
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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.