Depression Treatment and Economic Empowerment (ASHA)

August 28, 2020 updated by: Alison Karasz, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

The ASHA Project: Pilot Study of a Depression Treatment/Economic Empowerment

This pilot study randomized 48 depressed rural Bangladeshi housewives to either intervention or control groups. The intervention groups received depression treatment and a financial empowerment intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study was conducted in the rural Sirajganj region of Bangladesh. Working with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh and a local NGO, we recruited 48 depressed rural housewives for the study. Participants were randomized into intervention in control groups. The intervention groups (n=24) received 12 sessions of evidence based depression treatment, financial literacy education, agricultural training and skill building. They opened bank accounts and saved for six months. At the end of the six month period, participants who had met savings and attendance requirements received a cash transfer of approximately $186, which was used to purchase a productive asset. 22 participants purchased an agricultural animal, usually a goat; 1 financed a small retail business, and 1 leased land to grow crops for sale. Depression scores on the PHD-9 were sharply reduced. The study had 100% retention.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

48

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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 to 40 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18-40
  • PHQ greater than 10
  • Able to save
  • Able to read and write

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not in age range PhQ below 10 Unable to contribute to savings account Illiterate

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: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control Group
No intervention
Experimental: Treatment Group
Experimental group received 12 session of group based depression treatment, a matched savings program, financial literacy training, agricultural training, and a cash transfer.
Behavioral: Group based treatment
12 sessions of group based therapy that included cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, and interpersonal therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Depressive Symptoms
Time Frame: 12 months post baseline
symptoms on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHD-9), ranging from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating worse outcomes
12 months post baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Retention
Time Frame: Assessed at 12 Months post basline
Percentage of participants in the intervention group completing the intervention
Assessed at 12 Months post basline

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Collaborators

International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Alison Karasz, Albert Einstein College Of Medicine

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)

September 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

August 15, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 24, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 28, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

August 31, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 31, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 28, 2020

Last Verified

August 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2013-2320

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

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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