Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29859060›Full record

Trial reportBMC psychiatry2018

A smartphone application for treating depressive symptoms: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

M Deady, D A Johnston, N Glozier, D Milne, I Choi, A Mackinnon, A Mykletun, R A Calvo, A Gayed, R Bryant and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC psychiatry, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 16% 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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Interventions to improve return to work in depressed people.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Text Messages for Depression, Anxiety and Alcohol Abuse Therapy-Are Construction Guidelines Needed?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. 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

12 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

M DeadyBlack Dog Institute; Faculty of Medicine, UNSW, Sydney, Australia. m.deady@unsw.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0001-6237-5527
D A JohnstonBlack Dog Institute; Faculty of Medicine, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.
N GlozierCentral Clinical School, Brain and Mind Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
D MilneSchool of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
I ChoiCentral Clinical School, Brain and Mind Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
A MackinnonBlack Dog Institute; Faculty of Medicine, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.
A MykletunDepartment of Mental Health and Suicide, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
R A CalvoSchool of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
A GayedSchool of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
R BryantSchool of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
H ChristensenBlack Dog Institute; Faculty of Medicine, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.
S B HarveyBlack Dog Institute; Faculty of Medicine, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.
Black Dog Institute · AUThe University of Sydney · AUUNSW Sydney · AUNorwegian Institute of Public Health · NOUniversity of Technology Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDepression is a commonly occurring disorder linked to diminished role functioning and quality of life. The development of treatments that overcome barriers to accessing treatment remains an important area of clinical research as most people delay or do not receive treatment at an appropriate time. The workplace is an ideal setting to roll-out an intervention, particularly given the substantial psychological benefits associated with remaining in the workforce. Mobile health (mhealth) interventions utilising smartphone applications (apps) offer novel solutions to disseminating evidence based programs, however few apps have undergone rigorous testing. The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a smartphone app designed to treat depressive symptoms in workers.

methodsThe present study is a multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT), comparing the effectiveness of the intervention to that of an attention control. The primary outcome measured will be reduced depressive symptoms at 3 months. Secondary outcomes such as wellbeing and work performance will also be measured. Employees from a range of industries will be recruited via a mixture of targeted social media advertising and Industry partners. Participants will be included if they present with likely current depression at baseline. Following baseline assessment (administered within the app), participants will be randomised to receive one of two versions of the Headgear application: 1) Intervention (a 30-day mental health intervention focusing on behavioural activation and mindfulness), or 2) attention control app (mood monitoring for 30 days). Participants will be blinded to their allocation. Analyses will be conducted within an intention to treat framework using mixed modelling. DISCUSSION: The results of this trial will provide valuable information about the effectiveness of mhealth interventions in the treatment of depressive symptoms in a workplace context.

trial registrationThe current trial is registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ( ACTRN12617000547347 , Registration date: 19/04/2017).

Indexed as

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyDepressionMobile ApplicationsAdultDepressive DisorderFemaleHumansMaleMulticenter Studies as TopicResearch DesignSmartphoneTelemedicineTherapy, Computer-AssistedTreatment OutcomeDepressionMhealthTreatmentWorkplace

Identifiers

PMID29859060
PMCPMC5984798
OpenAlexW2806466259

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.