Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30654777›Full record

Trial reportBMC psychiatry2019

A cluster randomized controlled trial of an online psychoeducational intervention for people with a family history of depression.

Llewellyn Mills, Bettina Meiser, Raghib Ahmad, Peter R Schofield, Michelle Peate, Charlene Levitan, Lyndal Trevena, Kristine Barlow-Stewart, Timothy Dobbins, Helen Christensen and 3 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC psychiatry, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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. Trial
  2. Article
  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

13 authors.

Llewellyn MillsPsychosocial Research Group, Prince of Wales Clinical School, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.
Bettina MeiserPsychosocial Research Group, Prince of Wales Clinical School, UNSW, Sydney, Australia. b.meiser@unsw.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0002-5086-0784
Raghib AhmadPsychosocial Research Group, Prince of Wales Clinical School, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.
Peter R SchofieldNeuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia.
Michelle PeatePsychosocial Research Group, Prince of Wales Clinical School, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.
Charlene LevitanPsychosocial Research Group, Prince of Wales Clinical School, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.
Lyndal TrevenaSchool of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Kristine Barlow-StewartSydney Medical School - Northern, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Timothy DobbinsNational Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Helen ChristensenBlack Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia.
Kerry A ShermanCentre for Emotional Health, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
Kate DunlopCentre for Genetics Education NSW Health, Sydney, Australia.
Philip B MitchellSchool of Psychiatry, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPeople with a family history of major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD) report specific psychoeducational needs that are unmet by existing online interventions. This trial aimed to test whether an interactive website for people at familial risk for depression (intervention) would improve intention to adopt, or actual adoption of, depression prevention strategies (primary outcome) and a range of secondary outcome measures.

methodsIn this cluster randomised trial, primary care practises were randomised to either provide the link to the intervention or the control website. Primary health care attendees were invited by letter to opt into this study if they had at least one first-degree relative with MDD or BD and were asked to complete online questionnaires at baseline and 2-week follow-up.

resultsTwenty general practices were a randomized, and 202 eligible patients completed both questionnaires. Thirty-nine (19.3%) of participants were male and 163 (80.7%) female. At follow-up, compared to controls, the intervention group: (i) were more likely to intend to undergo, or to have actually undergone, psychological therapies (OR = 5.83, 95% CI: 1.58-21.47, p = .008); (ii) had better knowledge of depression risk factors and prevention strategies (mean difference = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.05-0.88, p = .029); and (iii) were more likely to accurately estimate their lifetime risk of developing BD (mean difference = 11.2, 95% CI: -16.52- -5.73, p < .001). There were no statistically significant between-group differences in change from baseline to follow up for any of the remaining outcome measures (Patient Health Questionnaire, Perceived Devaluation-Discrimination Questionnaire and Perceived Risk of Developing MDD).

conclusionThe opt-in nature of the study may have led to participation bias, e.g. underrepresentation of males, and hence may limit generalisability to the broader population at familial risk for depression. This is the first website internationally focusing specifically on informational needs of those at familial risk of depression. Our interactive website can play an important role in improving the outcomes of individuals at familial risk for depression. Testing the intervention in other settings (e.g. psychology, psychiatry, genetic counselling) appears warranted.

trial registrationThe study was prospectively registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Group (Registration no: ACTRN12613000402741 ).

Indexed as

Online SystemsAdolescentAdultAgedAustraliaFemaleHumansMajor Depressive DisorderMaleMedical History TakingMiddle AgedNew ZealandPatient Education as TopicPatient Health QuestionnairePrimary Health CareTherapy, Computer-AssistedBipolar disorderFamily historyMajor depressive disorderOnline interventionPsycho-education

Identifiers

PMID30654777
PMCPMC6337794

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.