Effectiveness of Depression and Substance Use Module for Patients With Co-occurring Disorders (D-SUD-M)

July 15, 2026 updated by: Somia Shabbir, International Islamic University, Islamabad

Adaptation And Effectiveness Of Depression And Substance Use Module For Patients With Substance Use Disorders And Depression in Pakistan

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the adaptation and effectiveness of an integrated treatment module, the Depression and Substance Use Disorder Module (D-SUD-M), for male patients experiencing co-occurring depression and substance use disorders in Pakistan.

Participants are divided into two groups: an experimental group receiving the structured D-SUD-M intervention-based sessions and a control group receiving standard routine treatment sessions within the rehabilitation center.

The primary objective is to evaluate whether the specialized intervention module significantly reduces depressive symptoms and substance use severity compared to routine standard care.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

A total of 50 male participants aged 17 to 56 years admitted to a rehabilitation facility are enrolled in this parallel-group interventional study.

The research is structured as follows:

  1. Pre-Assessment Screening: All participants are initially screened using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) to assess depression levels and the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) to assess substance use severity.
  2. Group Assignment: Participants are allocated to either the experimental group or the control group. The experimental group undergoes the designated treatment module (D-SUD-M) over a 12-session course spanning approximately 5 months (22 weeks). The control group undergoes routine rehabilitation facility program care without the specific D-SUD-M intervention.
  3. Post-Assessment Screening: Following the completion of the intervention period at 22 weeks, both groups are re-evaluated using the exact same screening instruments (BDI-II and DAST-10) to statistically analyze symptom reduction and measure module effectiveness.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

50

Phase

  • 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

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, Pakistan
        • Najjat Trust

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

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Participants identified by the rehabilitation centre
  2. Only male participants will be taken,
  3. Age range lies between 17 to 56 years,
  4. Screening of depression by using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and for Substance Use Disorders using Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10),
  5. Diagnosed patients based on DSM-5 clinical diagnostic criteria will be taken into study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Diagnosed cases of other psychopathology including bipolar disorder, psychotic depression, and others will not be taken in study,
  2. Cases of cognitive impairment linked to physical illness will not be part of the study.

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: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental Group: Treatment Module D-SUD-M
Participants in this group will recieve special treatment module D-SUD-M for patients with Depression and Substance Abuse.
Behavioral: Experimental Group: Treatment Module D-SUD-M
A specialized psychological Intervention based module design for reducing the symptoms and to check the effectiveness of module on patients with depression and substance use disorder. This module is translated and culturally adapted. A manual treatment booklet was written in which eclectic approaches were used like Behaviour therapy, Cognitive behaviour therapy, relapse prevention, group therapy along with activity sheets for each session. 12 intervention based sessions will be given to the participants of this group.
Behavioral: Control Group
No module based treatment will be given to the participants of this group.
Active Comparator: Control Group
No exposure of special treatment module will be given to the participants of this group.
Behavioral: Control Group
No module based treatment will be given to the participants of this group.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in symptoms severity of depression from baseline to post-intervention
Time Frame: Baseline to Post-intervention (5months) total weeks(22)
Assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). The BDI-II is a 21-item self-report scale measuring characteristics and symptoms of depression. Total scores range from 0 to 63, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome (greater depressive symptom severity).
Baseline to Post-intervention (5months) total weeks(22)
Change in Substance Use Disorder Severity from baseline to post-intervention
Time Frame: baseline to post-intervention (5months), total weeks (22)
Assessed using the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10). The DAST -10 is a self-report instrument used to evaluate consequences related to drug misuse. Total scores range from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome (greater severity of substance use-related problems).
baseline to post-intervention (5months), total weeks (22)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

International Islamic University, Islamabad

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)

May 2, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 10, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 10, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 15, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IIUI/ORIC/Bioethics/110-

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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