Treating Comorbid Depression During Care Transitions Using Relational Agents
CompletedNot applicableNCT02845102
View the official record on ClinicalTrials.gov Recruiting status changes often. Contact the study team listed on ClinicalTrials.gov, and talk to your doctor before joining a study.
This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.
Brief summary (from the registry)
Depression is common among individuals with chronic illness such as chronic heart failure (CHF) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is a strong predictor of poor clinical outcomes and high rates of avoidable 30-day readmissions. While depression is a treatable condition, few people with depression receive effective treatment. The proposed study aims to develop a relational agent system to deliver depression treatment to patients with chronic illness and comorbid depression. While depression is a treatable condition, less than 36% of people with depression receive effective treatment. The proposed study aims to design and develop a technology-driven relational agent system to deliver a 6 module, blended approach of cognitive behavioral therapy and self-management education (RA-CBT) to support patients with CHF or COPD and comorbid depression. The relational agent is a human animation program that interacts with patients, integrates best practices from provider-patient communication theory, emulating the face-to-face conversational behavior of an empathic provider emphasizing nonverbal communicative behavior such as gaze, posture, gestures, etc. The RA-CBT program will be accessed via tablet technology by participants. The study investigators will conduct a pre-post feasibility study to understand the feasibility and acceptability of using the RA-CBT system and its effectiveness in treating comorbid depression. If successful, this new approach to depression treatment would immediately expand access and scalability for post-discharge mental health support in the care transition.
Study details
- Official title
- Treating Comorbid Depression During Care Transitions Using Relational Agents
- Conditions
- Chronic Illness
- Chronic Pain
- Depression
- Comorbid Depression
- Interventions
- Other: Pre-Post Feasibility
- Sponsor
- Boston Medical Center
- Collaborators
- Northeastern University
- Start date
- 2014-08
- Primary completion
- 2017-05-21
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 18 Years
- Healthy volunteers
- true
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- United States
- Total sites listed
- 1
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: The study intervention will include both men and women admitted to Boston Medical Center in the last 24 hours. The study investigators will enroll those who are: 1. over 18 years old, 2. and/or admitted to the general medical or cardiology service of BMC with primary diagnosis of CHF or COPD exacerbation 3. and/or patients of ambulatory care clinics, specialty care clinics and/or chronic pain groups of BMC Family Medicine Health Centers 4. and/ or patients of Behavioral Health in the Department of Family Medicine and/or BMC Family Medicine Health Centers 5. and/or participants recruited from BU/BMC ecommunications and community settings such as community centers, recreational centers, senior centers, and weight loss centers. 6. and/or have ever been diagnosed with any symptoms of chronic illness such as Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) and/or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease 7. speak English with health providers, 8. have access to a telephone 9. have permanent housing and/or are not housed within shelter programs 10. Live in the Boston area, and do not plan on leaving the Boston area for more than 2 weeks in the next 6 months 11. are able to independently consent. If patients meet these criteria, the PHQ-2 will be administered during feasibility screening. Those who score ≥3 on the PHQ-2 during this pre-consent screening and will be consented. The PHQ-2 score will carry over into post-consent screening of the feasibility testing enrollment form. The PHQ-8 will be administered post-consent during the enrollment process. Those who score ≥5 on the PHQ-8 and meet the other post-consent screening on the enrollment form will be enrolled in the study. Exclusion Criteria: * Using clear protocols, the study investigators will identify those who do not have indications for CBT amd will exclude: 1. Under 18 years of age 2. Unable to speak English with health providers 3. Those who do not have indications for CBT (e.g., active substance abuse, dementia, bipolar disease, schizophrenia, psychotic symptoms, prior history of ECT, among others based on Mini International Neuropsychiatric Inventory). 4. Those who are suicidal or homicidal, 5. Those who are currently in police custody and/or incarcerated, 6. Those who do not live in the Boston (or MA) area, or those who plan on leaving the Boston area for more than 2 weeks in the next 6 months. 7. If they do not live in permanent housing and/or live in shelter programs, 8. Those who are already engaged i…
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02845102