The Impact of Coach-guided Risk Communication on the Risk of Major Depression

Launched by DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY · Sep 26, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying a new tool designed to help prevent major depression before it starts. The tool, called the personalized depression risk communication tool (PDRC), is guided by a coach and aims to give people personalized information about their risk of depression, including factors that contribute to that risk and strategies to help themselves. The goal is to motivate participants to engage in self-help and seek support, ultimately reducing their risk of developing depression.

The study will involve 1,000 adults from across Canada, aged between 18 and 65, who are considered at high risk for depression. To qualify, participants should not currently have a major depressive episode or have been fully recovered for at least two months if they had one in the past. They will be randomly assigned to either use the PDRC tool or to a control group for comparison. Participants will be followed for 12 months, and the researchers will assess how well the tool works, who benefits the most, and the economic aspects of implementing it in the community. If successful, this trial could provide an effective way to help prevent depression in many people.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • no MDE at baseline, or full remission for 2 months for those who had a past MDE (see below the question).
• • Aged 18 and 65 years.
• • At high risk of MDE based on the depression risk calculators (predicted risk of 6.5%+ for males and 11.2%+ for females), which represent the top two deciles of male and female populations in Canada.
• • Agreement to be contacted for follow-up assessments, and
• • no language barriers to English or French
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • individuals who
• • cannot provide informed consent,
• • do not agree to be followed,
• • cannot communicate in English and French, or
• • report suicide behaviors (score \>0 on item 9 of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)).