The Efficacy of Automated Feedback After Internet-based Depression Screening (DISCOVER)

September 18, 2023 updated by: Dr. Sebastian Kohlmann, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf

The Efficacy of Automated Feedback After Internet-based Depression Screening: the German, Three-armed, Randomised Controlled Trial DISCOVER

The DISCOVER randomized controlled trial is designed to evaluate the effect of automated feedback after internet-based depression screening in individuals with undetected depression. A total of 1076 individuals reporting elevated levels of depression (PHQ-9 score ≥ 10 points) will be randomized into three groups to either receive a) no feedback (control group), b) standardised or c) tailored feedback on their depression screening results.The primary hypothesis is that feedback reduces depression severity six months after screening compared to no feedback. The secondary hypothesis is that tailored feedback is more efficacious as compared to standard feedback.

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

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent condition associated with substantial disease burden and economic costs. Still, it often remains undetected and untreated, which in turn increases the likelihood of a chronic course, treatment resistance and rising healthcare costs. One solution to address early detection and disease burden could be widely accessible depression screening. Our previous trial in cardiac patients provides first evidence that depression screening combined with written individual-targeted feedback on the screening results improves depression severity and encourages greater patient participation and engagement in mental health. To amplify these effects in a broader setting, the internet-based DISCOVER randomized controlled trial (RCT) now aims at addressing affected but yet undetected individuals on the internet. In order to evaluate the effect of feedback in this setting, a total of 1076 individuals reporting elevated levels of depression (PHQ-9 score ≥ 10) will be randomized into three groups. They either receive a) no feedback (control group), b) standardised or c) tailored feedback on their depression screening results. The primary hypothesis is that feedback reduces depression severity six months after screening compared to no feedback. The secondary hypothesis is that tailored feedback is more efficacious as compared to standard feedback. Futher outcomes are guideline-based depression care, depression-related help-seeking behaviour, a health economic evaluation, clinical outcomes (somatic symptom severity and anxiety), health-related quality of life, illness beliefs, intervention acceptance, depression diagnosis and adverse events.

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.
1178

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

  • Germany
      • Hamburg, Germany, 20246
        • University Medical Center Hamburg

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

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • (Gender: male, female, diverse)
  • Age ≥ 18 years; no maximum age
  • Sufficient German language skills
  • Informed consent
  • Patient Health Questionnaire-9 > 9 points
  • Contact details
  • Internet access
  • Sufficient computer/internet literacy

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of a depressive disorder within the past 12 months
  • Depression treatment (current or within the past 12 months)

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: Screening
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: Double

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.
Experimental: tailored feedback
Using a randomized-controlled study design one third of the participants will receive individually tailored feedback after depression screening. The feedback for the participant contains the screening result, information about depression in general, guideline based treatment recommendations for patients and contact-information for treatment. The information is tailored to the participant's individual symptom profile, illness perceptions and preferences.
Behavioral: tailored feedback of depression screening results
The feedback for the participant contains the screening result, information about depression in general, guideline based treatment recommendations for patients and contact-information for treatment. The information is tailored to the participant's individual symptom profile, illness perceptions and preferences.
Experimental: standardized feedback
Using a randomized-controlled study design one third of the participants will receive a standard feedback after depression screening. The feedback for the participant contains the screening result, information about depression in general, guideline based treatment recommendations for patients and contact-information for treatment.
Behavioral: standardized feedback of depression screening results
The feedback for the participant contains the screening result, information about depression in general, guideline based treatment recommendations for patients and contact-information for treatment.
No Intervention: no feedback
Using a randomized-controlled study design one third of the participants will not receive any feedback.

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 severity (Questionnaire: Patient Health Questionnaire-9)
Time Frame: Six months after screening
Level of depression severity assessed six months after screening with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Score range is 0 to 27 points. Higher scores mean more severe depression.
Six months after screening

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Depression severity (Questionnaire: Patient Health Questionnaire-9)
Time Frame: One month after screening
Level of depression severity assessed one month after screening with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Score range is 0 to 27 points. Higher scores mean more severe depression.
One month after screening
Guideline-based depression care
Time Frame: Six months after screening
Proportion of individuals treated according to German Guideline based recommendations (e.g. depression diagnosis by a health professional, psychotherapy)
Six months after screening
Depression-related help-seeking behaviour
Time Frame: Six months after screening
proportion of individuals seeking formal and informal help, including information seeking, self-help, online help, professional help.
Six months after screening
Health economic Evaluation (Questionnaire: Client Sociodemographic and Service Receipt Inventory)
Time Frame: Six months after screening
Health care use assessed six months after screening with the Client Sociodemographic and Service Receipt Inventory. The Client Sociodemographic and Service Receipt Inventory assesses health care use by assessing the use of healthcare services (e.g. hospital stays, health professional contacts), medication (e.g. type of drug) and work loss days (e.g. hospital days)
Six months after screening
Health-related quality of life (Questionnaire: EuroQol-5D)
Time Frame: Six months after screening
Health-related quality of life assessed six months after screening with the EuroQol-5D. The EuroQol-5D (EQ5D) consists of five items with a 4 point Likert scale reflecting five different dimensions of quality of life. Higher scores reflect better quality of life.
Six months after screening
Anxiety (Questionnaire: Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7)
Time Frame: Six months after screening
Level of anxiety assessed six months after screening with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. Score range is 0 to 21 points. Higher scores mean more anxiety.
Six months after screening
Somatic symptom severity (Questionnaire: Somatic Symptom Scale-8)
Time Frame: Six months after screening
Level of somatic symptom severity assessed six months after screening with the Somatic Symptom Scale.8. Score range is 0 to 32 points. Higher scores mean more somatic symptom burden.
Six months after screening
Intervention acceptance (Questionnaire: Usefulness scale for patient information material)
Time Frame: One month after screening
Usefulness and satisfaction with the feedback intervention material will be assessed one month after screening with the Usefulness Scale for patient information material. Score range is 0 to 100 points. Higher scores mean better usefulness. Items are added to assess PHQ-9-based depression screening.
One month after screening
Adverse events
Time Frame: Six months after screening
Proportion of individuals reporting the occurence of any negative event that is attributed to the trial assessed by one open question six months after screening
Six months after screening

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Illness beliefs (Questionnaire: Brief-Illness Perception Questionnaire)
Time Frame: One and six months after screening
Depression-related illness beliefs assessed one and six months after screening with the Brief-Illness Perception Questionnaire. The Brief-Illness Perception Questionnaire includes 8 subscales (consequences, timeline, personal control, treatment control, illness comprehensibility, illness concern, illness-related emotions, causal attribution). Depending on each scale higher scores can represent functional or dysfunctional illness representations.
One and six months after screening
Depression Diagnosis (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders; depression-related module)
Time Frame: Two days and six months after screening
Proportion of individuals with a depression diagnosis as assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders (depression-related module)
Two days and six months after screening
Critical life events
Time Frame: Six months after screening
Positive and negative critical life events, assessed by open questions six months after screening
Six months after screening
Website use
Time Frame: At baseline
Number of clicks per page
At baseline
Intervention adherence
Time Frame: Six months after screening
Extent to which participants have read the feedback (in percentage), as reported by participants six months after screening
Six months after screening

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.
Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf

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.
German Research Foundation

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: Sebastian Kohlmann, PhD, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

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 (Actual)

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.
January 12, 2021

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.
September 30, 2022

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.
September 30, 2022

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).
November 6, 2020

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.
November 16, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

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.
November 18, 2020

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.
September 21, 2023

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.
September 18, 2023

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.
September 1, 2023

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.
  • PV7039

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

In accordance with the ethics approval of the Ethics Committee of the Hamburg Medical Association on 29 July 2019, (approval number PV7039) and the German Research Foundation guidelines for the handling of research data, deidentified data will be made available on request.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will become available six months after publication of the main findings. Data will be available for ten years after publication of the main findings.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data can be requested by the principal investigators. Data use and request are subject to the publication policy of the DISCOVER RCT.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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