Promotion of Self-help Strategies for Depression

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of health promotion emails for depression. It is hypothesised that emails containing self-help advice will improve depression symptoms more than emails containing information about depression.

Detailed Description
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Depression symptoms are commonly experienced and disrupt day-to-day life. Increasing depression literacy and the use of effective self-help methods could improve depression across the community. The internet is an ideal promotional medium for health messages, because it is often used to search for information about mental health issues, and health messages can be widely disseminated at little cost. An email campaign could be a low-cost approach to improving self-help behavior and knowledge about depression in adults with depression symptoms.

Conditions
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Depressive Disorder, Depression

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Mood Memo emails


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Access to the internet at least once per week Resident of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, USA Exclusion Criteria:

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Self-help advice<br>Each email will contain a self-help strategy for coping with depressive symptoms. The email will contain information about why the strategy will be effective, tips for implementing the strategy and overcoming barriers, and how to set a goal to implement the strategy. Strategies are based on previous research published by the trial co-ordinators. | Behavioral: Mood Memo emails<br>* Participants will receive 12 emails over 6 weeks.<br>|
| Placebo Comparator: Depression information<br>Each email will contain different information about depression, such as symptoms, risk factors, prevalence. | Behavioral: Mood Memo emails<br>* Participants will receive 12 emails over 6 weeks.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Depression symptom score on PHQ-9 at post-intervention |  | 6-weeks post baseline | 
| Depression symptom score on PHQ-9 at 6-month follow-up |  | 6-months post end-of-intervention | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Psychological distress on K10 at post-intervention |  | 6-weeks post baseline | 
| Psychological functioning on Work and Social Adjustment Scale at post-intervention |  | 6-weeks post baseline | 
| Psychological functioning on Work and Social Adjustment Scale at 6-month follow-up |  | 6-months post end-of-intervention | 
| Psychological distress on K10 at 6-month follow-up |  | 6-months post end-of-intervention | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Depression, Self Care