Effectiveness of an Online Bulletin Board for Depression: a Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial (ShareIT)

January 13, 2015 updated by: Louise Farrer

A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Online Bulletin Board for Depression

This study is a randomised controlled trial that aims to examine the efficacy of an established online bulletin board for depression. It has been estimated that millions of people worldwide use peer-to-peer bulletin boards, forums or internet support groups (ISGs) for health conditions. However, little is known about the effectiveness of these groups in terms of symptom reduction or improvement in quality of life. The current project investigates the effectiveness of an established online bulletin board for depression available to the public. To our knowledge, this is the first randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of a pre-existing, well-established online bulletin board for depression in the community. The aims of the project are to determine whether the bulletin board improves mental health, quality of life, and related outcomes among members of the community with high levels of self-reported psychological distress and previous history or current experience of depression.

Study Overview

Status

Withdrawn

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

  • Early Phase 1

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

  • Australia
    • Australian Capital Territory
      • Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, 0200
        • Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Over 18 years of age
  2. Internet access with email
  3. Self-report of current or previous experience of depression

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Current participation in an online support group for depression
  2. Diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or psychosis

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

  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Bulletin board
Participants will be given access to the online bulletin board (intervention) for a 6 month period
Other: bulletin board
An asynchronous online bulletin board for people with experience of depression
No Intervention: Control
After 6 months participants allocated to the control group will receive access to the intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Depressive symptoms: Centre for Epidemiological Studies - Depression Scale (CES-D)
Time Frame: Baseline
20-item self -report measure of depression severity
Baseline
Depressive symptoms: Centre for Epidemiological Studies - Depression Scale (CES-D)
Time Frame: 6 months post-baseline
20-item self -report measure of depression severity
6 months post-baseline
Depressive symptoms: Centre for Epidemiological Studies - Depression Scale (CES-D)
Time Frame: 12 months post-baseline
20-item self -report measure of depression severity
12 months post-baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Louise Farrer

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 Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 23, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 25, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

August 26, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 14, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 13, 2015

Last Verified

January 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CMHR-123
  • NHMRC Fellowship ref 525413 (Other Grant/Funding Number: National Health and Medical Research Council)

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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