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Bossarte RM, Kessler RC, Nierenberg AA, Chattopadhyay A, Cuijpers P, Enrique A, Foxworth PM, Gildea SM, Belnap BH, Haut MW, Law KB, Lewis WD, Liu H, Luedtke AR, Pigeon WR, Rhodes LA, Richards D, Rollman BL, Sampson NA, Stokes CM, Torous J, Webb TD, Zubizarreta JR. The Appalachia Mind Health Initiative (AMHI): a pragmatic randomized clinical trial of adjunctive internet-based cognitive behavior therapy for treating major depressive disorder among primary care patients. Trials 2022; 23:520. [PMID: 35725644 PMCID: PMC9207842 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-022-06438-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disease morbidity. Combined treatment with antidepressant medication (ADM) plus psychotherapy yields a much higher MDD remission rate than ADM only. But 77% of US MDD patients are nonetheless treated with ADM only despite strong patient preferences for psychotherapy. This mismatch is due at least in part to a combination of cost considerations and limited availability of psychotherapists, although stigma and reluctance of PCPs to refer patients for psychotherapy are also involved. Internet-based cognitive behaviorial therapy (i-CBT) addresses all of these problems. METHODS Enrolled patients (n = 3360) will be those who are beginning ADM-only treatment of MDD in primary care facilities throughout West Virginia, one of the poorest and most rural states in the country. Participating treatment providers and study staff at West Virginia University School of Medicine (WVU) will recruit patients and, after obtaining informed consent, administer a baseline self-report questionnaire (SRQ) and then randomize patients to 1 of 3 treatment arms with equal allocation: ADM only, ADM + self-guided i-CBT, and ADM + guided i-CBT. Follow-up SRQs will be administered 2, 4, 8, 13, 16, 26, 39, and 52 weeks after randomization. The trial has two primary objectives: to evaluate aggregate comparative treatment effects across the 3 arms and to estimate heterogeneity of treatment effects (HTE). The primary outcome will be episode remission based on a modified version of the patient-centered Remission from Depression Questionnaire (RDQ). The sample was powered to detect predictors of HTE that would increase the proportional remission rate by 20% by optimally assigning individuals as opposed to randomly assigning them into three treatment groups of equal size. Aggregate comparative treatment effects will be estimated using intent-to-treat analysis methods. Cumulative inverse probability weights will be used to deal with loss to follow-up. A wide range of self-report predictors of MDD heterogeneity of treatment effects based on previous studies will be included in the baseline SRQ. A state-of-the-art ensemble machine learning method will be used to estimate HTE. DISCUSSION The study is innovative in using a rich baseline assessment and in having a sample large enough to carry out a well-powered analysis of heterogeneity of treatment effects. We anticipate finding that self-guided and guided i-CBT will both improve outcomes compared to ADM only. We also anticipate finding that the comparative advantages of adding i-CBT to ADM will vary significantly across patients. We hope to develop a stable individualized treatment rule that will allow patients and treatment providers to improve aggregate treatment outcomes by deciding collaboratively when ADM treatment should be augmented with i-CBT. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04120285 . Registered on October 19, 2019.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Bossarte
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of South Florida, 3515 E. Fletcher Ave, FL, 33613, Tampa, USA.
| | - Ronald C Kessler
- Department of Healthcare Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Andrew A Nierenberg
- The Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Pim Cuijpers
- Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7-9, Amsterdam, 1081 BT, The Netherlands
| | - Angel Enrique
- E-mental Health Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and Clinical Research & Innovation, SilverCloud Health, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Sarah M Gildea
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bea Herbeck Belnap
- Center for Behavioral Health, Media, and Technology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Marc W Haut
- Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA.,Department of Neurology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA.,Department of Radiology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - Kari B Law
- Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - William D Lewis
- Department of Family Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine and West Virginia University Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - Howard Liu
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua VA Medical Center, Canandaigua, NY, USA
| | - Alexander R Luedtke
- Department of Statistics, University of Washington and Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Wilfred R Pigeon
- Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua VA Medical Center, Canandaigua, NY, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA
| | - Larry A Rhodes
- Department of Pediatrics, West Virginia University School of Medicine and West Virginia University Institute for Community and Rural Health, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - Derek Richards
- E-mental Health Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and Clinical Research & Innovation, SilverCloud Health, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Bruce L Rollman
- Center for Behavioral Health, Media, and Technology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Nancy A Sampson
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Cara M Stokes
- Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA.,West Virginia University Injury Control Research Center, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - John Torous
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tyler D Webb
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of South Florida, 3515 E. Fletcher Ave, FL, 33613, Tampa, USA
| | - Jose R Zubizarreta
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Statistics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Biostatistics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Benjet C, Kessler RC, Kazdin AE, Cuijpers P, Albor Y, Carrasco Tapias N, Contreras-Ibáñez CC, Durán González MS, Gildea SM, González N, Guerrero López JB, Luedtke A, Medina-Mora ME, Palacios J, Richards D, Salamanca-Sanabria A, Sampson NA. Study protocol for pragmatic trials of Internet-delivered guided and unguided cognitive behavior therapy for treating depression and anxiety in university students of two Latin American countries: the Yo Puedo Sentirme Bien study. Trials 2022; 23:450. [PMID: 35658942 PMCID: PMC9164185 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-022-06255-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are highly prevalent among university students and predict impaired college performance and later life role functioning. Yet most students do not receive treatment, especially in low-middle-income countries (LMICs). We aim to evaluate the effects of expanding treatment using scalable and inexpensive Internet-delivered transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) among college students with symptoms of MDD and/or GAD in two LMICs in Latin America (Colombia and Mexico) and to investigate the feasibility of creating a precision treatment rule (PTR) to predict for whom iCBT is most effective. METHODS We will first carry out a multi-site randomized pragmatic clinical trial (N = 1500) of students seeking treatment at student mental health clinics in participating universities or responding to an email offering services. Students on wait lists for clinic services will be randomized to unguided iCBT (33%), guided iCBT (33%), and treatment as usual (TAU) (33%). iCBT will be provided immediately whereas TAU will be whenever a clinic appointment is available. Short-term aggregate effects will be assessed at 90 days and longer-term effects 12 months after randomization. We will use ensemble machine learning to predict heterogeneity of treatment effects of unguided versus guided iCBT versus TAU and develop a precision treatment rule (PTR) to optimize individual student outcome. We will then conduct a second and third trial with separate samples (n = 500 per arm), but with unequal allocation across two arms: 25% will be assigned to the treatment determined to yield optimal outcomes based on the PTR developed in the first trial (PTR for optimal short-term outcomes for Trial 2 and 12-month outcomes for Trial 3), whereas the remaining 75% will be assigned with equal allocation across all three treatment arms. DISCUSSION By collecting comprehensive baseline characteristics to evaluate heterogeneity of treatment effects, we will provide valuable and innovative information to optimize treatment effects and guide university mental health treatment planning. Such an effort could have enormous public-health implications for the region by increasing the reach of treatment, decreasing unmet need and clinic wait times, and serving as a model of evidence-based intervention planning and implementation. TRIAL STATUS IRB Approval of Protocol Version 1.0; June 3, 2020. Recruitment began on March 1, 2021. Recruitment is tentatively scheduled to be completed on May 30, 2024. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04780542 . First submission date: February 28, 2021.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corina Benjet
- Center for Global Mental Health, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico City, Mexico.
| | - Ronald C Kessler
- Department of Health care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Pim Cuijpers
- Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Yesica Albor
- Center for Global Mental Health, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | | | | | - Sarah M Gildea
- Department of Health care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Noé González
- Center for Global Mental Health, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz and School of Psychology, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Alex Luedtke
- Department of Statistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Maria Elena Medina-Mora
- Center for Global Mental Health, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz and School of Psychology, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Jorge Palacios
- SilverCloud Health, Dublin, Ireland
- E-mental Health Group, School of Psychology, University of Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Derek Richards
- SilverCloud Health, Dublin, Ireland
- E-mental Health Group, School of Psychology, University of Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Alicia Salamanca-Sanabria
- Future Health Technologies Programme, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise, Singapore-ETH Centre, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nancy A Sampson
- Department of Health care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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