Comparing Engage to PST for Late Life Depression (Engage)

June 25, 2021 updated by: Pat Arean, University of Washington

Stepped, Reward-exposure Based Therapy vs. PST in Late Life Depression

This is a non-inferiority trial of Engage, a new intervention for late-life depression, and problem solving therapy (PST). Patient participants will be randomized to either Engage or PST and receive 9 weeks of either intervention. Interview assessments will be collected at baseline and weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 26, and 36. Clinician participants, social workers from mental health agencies, will be randomized to receive training and certification in either Engage or PST.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Policy reports document that evidence-based psychotherapies are rarely employed and sustained in the community. Several causes of this science to service gap have been identified. One cause, specific to behavioral interventions, is the complexity of interventions and the competencies community clinicians must acquire and sustain over time in order to deliver them. A realistic solution is to streamline behavioral interventions and tailor them to the settings and therapist skill level available in the community. In response to this need, we have developed Engage, which: 1) is streamlined on the basis of concepts and findings on the neurobiology of depression; 2) consists of psychotherapeutic and ecosystem management components of known efficacy; 3) has distilled and simplified these components so as they can be accessible to most depressed older patients and taught to larger numbers of clinicians than available therapies, e.g., Problem Solving Therapy (PST); and 4) is personalized through a structured stepped approach focusing on "reward exposure". Problem Solving Therapy is an evidenced-based intervention shown to be effective in treating late-life depression.

Three hundred (150 per site) patient participants will be randomly assigned to receive 9 sessions of either Engage or PST. Forty-two clinician participants will be randomly assigned to receive training and certification in either Engage or PST. Once certified, clinicians will be assigned a patient participant and administer their assigned intervention.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
262

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • White Plains, New York, United States, 10605
        • Weill Medical College of Cornell University
    • Washington
      • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98195
        • University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

60 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria (Patient participants):

  • Age ≥ 60 years
  • unipolar, non-psychotic major depression (by SCID, DSM-IV)
  • MADRS ≥ 20
  • MMSE ≥ 24
  • off antidepressants or have been on a stable dose of an antidepressant for 12 weeks and do not intend to change the dose in the next 10 weeks
  • English speaking
  • capacity to provide written consent

Exclusion Criteria (Patient participants):

  • Presence of psychiatric diagnoses other than unipolar, non-psychotic major depression or generalized anxiety disorder
  • Newly started use of psychotropic drugs (<12wks) or cholinesterase inhibitors other than mild doses of benzodiazepines
  • Current active suicidal intent/plan
  • Current substance abuse

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Problem Solving Therapy
Problem solving therapy is an evidence based psychotherapy for depression, with 30 years of research supporting its efficacy. PST focuses on the patients themselves and helps them develop skills in identifying, prioritizing, and solving problems, and thereby creates a sense of empowerment.
Behavioral: Problem Solving Therapy
PST is a behavioral intervention for depression that is delivered by trained therapists over a 9 week period. It consists of a process to help patients understand and then solve the problems in their lives they feel is contributing to their depression.
Experimental: Engage
Engage utilizes reward exposure consisting of the reintroduction of activities that patients once found rewarding and enjoyed, but have abandoned after they developed depression. Engage uses basic problem solving through which patients learn how to form "action plans" for pursuing rewarding activities of their choice.
Behavioral: Engage
Engage is a weekly behavioral intervention that is delivered over a 9 week period of time by trained therapists. The focus of Engage is to help patient reconnect with activities that they have lost interest in pursuing due to depression.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Depression
Time Frame: Measured at pretreatment and weeks 2,4,6,8,9,26 and 36
Depression will be assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, a multiple item questionnaire used to provide an indication of depression, and as a guide to evaluate recovery.
Measured at pretreatment and weeks 2,4,6,8,9,26 and 36

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Washington

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: George Alexopoulos, M.D., Weill Medical College of Cornell University
  • Principal Investigator: Patricia Arean, PhD, UW

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 31, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 31, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 25, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 11, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 13, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 29, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 25, 2021

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STUDY00001739

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

We intend to share de-identified data once study is complete

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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