Protocol for a randomized controlled dismantling study of a brief telephonic psychological intervention applied to non-professional caregivers with symptoms of depression
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Although depression is a common problem in caregivers and there are effective cognitive-behavioral interventions for its prevention, the ability of caregivers to attend these treatments is often limited by logistics. Furthermore, the efficacy of the components of these interventions is unknown. The objectives of this study are to (a) evaluate the efficacy of a telephone-administered cognitive-behavioral intervention to prevent depression with all its components (cognitive and behavioral) and only with behavioral activation, and to (b) analyze the mediators of the change in depressive symptoms. METHODS/DESIGN: A randomized controlled clinical trial was designed to dismantle the components of a cognitive-behavioral intervention. Caregivers with elevated depressive symptoms will be randomly assigned to a cognitive-behavioral intervention, an intervention with only the behavioral activation component, or a usual care control group. Each condition will consist of approximately 60 participants. The two interventions will consist of five sessions lasting 90 min each, applied to groups of about 5 participants at a time via conference call. Trained interviewers, blind to the experimental conditions, will conduct the assessments at the pre-treatment, post-treatment and 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-ups. DISCUSSION: This study will provide evidence of the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral intervention to prevent depression in caregivers with elevated depressive symptoms administered via conference call, and on the impact of the behavioral activation component on the overall efficacy of the program. If we find favorable results, it would mean that we have developed a program of prevention of depression of higher clinical utility and efficacy than those currently available, which would make it possible for a large number of caregivers to have access to such resources. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02292394. Registered 6 November 2014.
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There are few studies with a dismantling design in interventions for depression.
“There are few studies with a dismantling design in interventions for depression [50].”
From Protocol for a randomized controlled dismantling study of an internet-based intervention for depressive symptoms: Exploring the contribution of behavioral activation and positive psychotherapy strategies (2019) · cites this paper as [50]
The Discussion (page unavailable) says no study aimed at caregivers had conducted this kind of dismantling analysis. That supports a research gap for caregivers, but not the broader claim that few depression interventions have used a dismantling design; the paper also cites prior clinical depression studies. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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“There are few studies with a dismantling design in interventions for depression [50].”
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- Authors
- Vázquez, F. L., Torres, Á., Díaz, O., Otero, P., Blanco, V., & Hermida, E.
- Affiliations
- Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (ES)
- Corresponding author
- Vázquez, Fernando L.
- Venue
- BMC Psychiatry
- Published
- 2015-11-23
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 300-300
- ISSN
- 1471-244X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4657354
- OpenAlex
- W2174377964
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 1.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- BMC Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Hispana (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Repositorio institucional da Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (University of Santiago de Compostela) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (2012-PN162 (PSI2012-37396))
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- caregiver depression, non-professional caregivers, depression prevention, cognitive-behavioral intervention, behavioral activation, telephone-delivered intervention, conference calls, mediators of change, depressive symptoms
- MeSH terms
- Depression, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Negativism, Psychotherapy, Brief, Research Design, Telephone, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Treatment Outcome, Caregivers, Remote Consultation, Self Efficacy
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