ArticleTrials2022
Digital psychosocial intervention for depression among older adults in socioeconomically deprived areas in Brazil (PRODIGITAL-D): protocol for an individually randomised controlled trial.
Article in Trials, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Psychological trauma as a transdiagnostic risk factor for mental disorder: an umbrella meta-analysis.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2023Pooled it
- Self-help mobile messaging intervention for depression among older adults in resource-limited settings: a randomized controlled trial.Nature medicine · 2024Trial
- Designing digital mental health interventions for older adults: a scoping review.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Digital interventions for common mental health problems among older adults in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- A self-help mobile messaging intervention to improve subthreshold depressive symptoms among older adults in a socioeconomically deprived region of Brazil (PRODIGITAL): a pragmatic, two-arm randomised controlled trial.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2024Article
- Nanoencapsulation ofPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
18 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDepression in older adults is a challenge for health systems in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Digital strategies for the management of this condition have been emerging worldwide, but the effectiveness of most of them is still unclear, especially among older adults. Thus, we aim to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a digital psychosocial intervention to treat depression among older adults living in socioeconomically deprived areas in Guarulhos, Brazil.
methodsWe will conduct a two-arm individually randomised controlled trial with 1:1 allocation ratio. Five hundred older adults aged 60 years or over with depressive symptomatology (9-item Patient Health Questionnaire score, PHQ-9 ≥ 10) and registered with one of the primary care clinics will be recruited to participate in this study. A 6-week digital psychosocial programme, named Viva Vida, will be delivered via WhatsApp to participants allocated to the intervention arm. The Viva Vida will send psychoeducational and behavioural activation audio and visual messages 4 days a week for 6 weeks. The control arm will only receive a single message with general information about depression. The primary outcome will be the proportion of depression recovery (PHQ-9 < 10) assessed at 3 months. The cost-effectiveness of the intervention will be assessed at 5 months. A detailed process evaluation will be used to explore context and important implementation outcomes. DISCUSSION: This programme was based on the PROACTIVE intervention and designed to be delivered without face-to-face contact. If effective, it could be a simple treatment option, appropriate not only when social distancing is required, but it could also be included as a regular public health programme to initiate depression treatment, particularly in LMICs where resources allocated to mental health are scarce.
trial registrationRegistro Brasileiro de Ensaios Clínicos (ReBEC), RBR-4c94dtn. Registered on 22 October 2021 (submitted on 03 August 2021).
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