Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34697123›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2021

Clinical efficacy of COMPASS, a digital cognitive-behavioural therapy programme for treating anxiety and depression in patients with long-term physical health conditions: a protocol for randomised controlled trial.

Katrin Hulme, Joanna L Hudson, Federica Picariello, Natasha Seaton, Sam Norton, Abigail Wroe, Rona Moss-Morris

2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 22% 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.

NCT04535778 nacompletednot on this map

Pilot RCT for COMPASS: an Online CBT Program Treating Anxiety and Low Mood in Long-term Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

TypeinterventionalSponsorKing's College LondonRan2020 to 2022Enrolled194ConditionsTreatment of Illness-related Distress in Physical LTCsArmsCOMPASS, Standard charity resources
NCT07099365 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

A Randomised Controlled Cross-over Feasibility Trial of a Self-guided Smartphone App to Support Psychological Adjustment in Long-term Physical Conditions Compared to Usual Charity Support

TypeinterventionalSponsorKing's College LondonRan2025 to 2026Enrolled58ConditionsDepression, Anxiety, Chronic DiseaseArmsOrbi
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Using a Person-Centred Approach to Adapt a Digital Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (COMPASS-IBD).Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026
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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

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Katrin HulmeHealth Psychology Section, Psychology Department, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-2623-4417
Joanna L HudsonHealth Psychology Section, Psychology Department, King's College London, London, UK.
Federica PicarielloHealth Psychology Section, Psychology Department, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-2532-3290
Natasha SeatonHealth Psychology Section, Psychology Department, King's College London, London, UK.
Sam NortonHealth Psychology Section, Psychology Department, King's College London, London, UK.
Abigail WroeHealth Psychology Section, Psychology Department, King's College London, London, UK.
Rona Moss-MorrisHealth Psychology Section, Psychology Department, King's College London, London, UK rona.moss-morris@kcl.ac.uk.
King's College London · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionApproximately 30% of people with long-term physical health conditions (LTCs) experience mental health problems, with negative consequences and costs for individuals and healthcare services. Access to psychological treatment is scarce and, when available, often focuses on treating primary mental health problems rather than illness-related anxiety/depression. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy of a newly developed, therapist-supported, digital cognitive-behavioural treatment (COMPASS) for reducing LTC-related psychological distress (anxiety/depression), compared with standard charity support (SCS). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A two-arm, parallel-group randomised controlled trial (1:1 ratio) with nested qualitative study will be conducted. Two-hundred adults with LTC-related anxiety and depression will be recruited through national LTC charities. They will be randomly allocated to receive COMPASS or SCS only. An independent administrator will use Qualtrics randomiser for treatment allocation, to ensure allocation concealment. Participants will access treatment from home over 10 weeks. The COMPASS group will have access to the digital programme and six therapist contacts: one welcome message and five fortnightly phone calls. Data will be collected online at baseline, 6 weeks and 12 weeks post-randomisation for primary outcome (Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale) and secondary outcomes (anxiety, depression, daily functioning, COVID-19-related distress, illness-related distress, quality of life, knowledge and confidence for illness self-management, symptom severity and improvement). Analyses will be conducted following the intention-to-treat principle by a data analyst blinded to treatment allocation. A purposively sampled group of COMPASS participants and therapists will be interviewed. Interviews will be thematically analysed. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study is approved by King's College London's Psychiatry, Nursing and Midwifery Research Ethics Subcommittee (reference: LRS-19/20-20347). All participants will provide informed consent to take part if eligible. Findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04535778.

Indexed as

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyCOVID-19AdultAnxietyDepressionHumansQuality of LifeRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSARS-CoV-2Treatment Outcomeanxiety disordersclinical trialsdepression & mood disorders

Identifiers

PMID34697123
PMCPMC8557248
OpenAlexW3209245850

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

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.