Cited by 140Digital Mental Health InterventionsAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesMental Health Treatment and Access

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 57 of the 58 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 33 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial

Open access

Farrer, Louise, Christensen, Helen, Griffiths, Kathleen M., Mackinnon, Andrew·2011·PLoS ONE

DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0028099PMC PMC3227639

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Telephone helplines are frequently and repeatedly used by individuals with chronic mental health problems and web interventions may be an effective tool for reducing depression in this population. AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of a 6 week, web-based cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) intervention with and without proactive weekly telephone tracking in the reduction of depression in callers to a helpline service. METHOD: 155 callers to a national helpline service with moderate to high psychological distress were recruited and randomised to receive either Internet CBT plus weekly telephone follow-up; Internet CBT only; weekly telephone follow-up only; or treatment as usual. RESULTS: Depression was lower in participants in the web intervention conditions both with and without telephone tracking compared to the treatment as usual condition both at post intervention and at 6 month follow-up. Telephone tracking provided by a lay telephone counsellor did not confer any additional advantage in terms of symptom reduction or adherence. CONCLUSIONS: A web-based CBT program is effective both with and without telephone tracking for reducing depression in callers to a national helpline. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Controlled-Trials.comISRCTN93903959.

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

In a national helpline RCT, a 6-week web CBT program (BluePages + MoodGYM) reduced depression more than treatment as usual at post-intervention and 6-month follow-up, with large effect sizes. Adding weekly telephone tracking by a lay counsellor did not improve symptom reduction or adherence, and tracking alone was not effective.

Key findings

Among 155 callers randomised, web CBT conditions showed greater decline in CES-D depression than control at post-intervention and 6 months. Effect sizes were large: web only vs control g = 0.76 post-intervention and 1.19 at 6 months; web with tracking vs control g = 1.04 post-intervention and 1.26 at 6 months.
Tracking alone did not differ significantly from control at post-intervention or 6 months, and telephone tracking did not confer additional benefit over web CBT alone for symptom reduction or adherence.
At 6-month follow-up, clinical caseness on the CES-D was 43.5% in web only, 50.0% in web with tracking, and 90.9% in control. NNT was 6.03 for web only and 4.43 for web with tracking.
Adherence did not differ significantly between web conditions: average MoodGYM modules completed were 1.5 (SD = 1.89) for web only and 2.0 (SD = 1.88) for web with tracking; 15.8% and 17.8%, respectively, completed all five modules.

Methods

Randomised controlled trial recruiting callers to Lifeline’s 24-hour telephone counselling service in four major Australian cities; eligibility included age ≥18, English, Internet access, and K10 score ≥22.
Participants were randomised to web only, web with tracking, tracking only, or treatment as usual; the web intervention combined BluePages psychoeducation in Week 1 with five MoodGYM CBT modules over Weeks 2–6, and tracking consisted of weekly 10-minute calls from a telephone counsellor.
Primary outcome was CES-D depression, analysed on an intention-to-treat basis using mixed models repeated measures ANOVA with planned contrasts; effect sizes used Hedges’ g, and logistic/linear regressions examined dropout and caseness.

Limitations

Stated: intervention completion rates were lower than in some other web-based depression trials; symptom severity remained high post-intervention; greater dropout in the web with tracking condition may have inflated effects in that condition; two outliers were excluded from primary analyses; and depression caseness was estimated by CES-D cutoff rather than diagnostic interview.
Stated: the trial was a true effectiveness trial using a volunteer workforce, which may contribute to recruitment and adherence issues relative to efficacy studies.
Evident from the text: the achieved sample of 155 was below the original target of 400, although the authors state it maintained above 80% power to detect differences of less than 0.5 SD units in planned comparisons between individual treatment arms.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1371/journal.pone.0028099

Cites

57 of 57 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

0 of 33 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“A univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of caseness were significantly lower in participants in the web with tracking condition compared to participants in the control condition (odds ratio 0.16, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.91, p = .039).”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Results > Clinical caseness
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
- Rests on an assumption: The CES-D cutoff used adequately identifies clinical caseness of depression.

Show all 49 claims

It may state two separate claims as one. 29
Probably not a substantial claim. 22

A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Post intervention, the number needed to be treated (NNT) under the web only intervention was estimated to be 6.03 (95% CI: 2.72 – ∞ – NNH 27.15) and for the web with tracking intervention 4.43 (95% CI: 2.22–265.75).”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Results > Clinical caseness
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: The CES-D cutoff used adequately identifies clinical caseness of depression.
In the paper
“This yields NNTs of 6.09 (95% CI: 3.07 – ∞ – NNH 90.15) and 3.63 (95% CI: 2.23–12.29) [33] respectively.”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Results > Clinical caseness
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [33] DG Altman, 1998, Confidence intervals for the number needed to treat., BMJ source
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: The CES-D cutoff used adequately identifies clinical caseness of depression.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The odds of meeting caseness criteria were lower in the web with tracking (odds ratio 0.10, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.56, p = .009) and web only (odds ratio 0.08, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.41, p = .003) conditions, compared with the control condition.”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Results > Clinical caseness
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: The CES-D cutoff used adequately identifies clinical caseness of depression.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Of those for whom post intervention data were available, 92.6% of those in the control condition continued to meet clinical caseness, compared to 70.4% in the web only and 66.7% in the web with tracking condition.”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Results > Clinical caseness
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: The CES-D cutoff used adequately identifies clinical caseness of depression.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“as the odds of achieving caseness status were lower in participants in the web only (odds ratio 0.17, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.67, p = .010) and web with tracking conditions (odds ratio 0.28, 95% CI: 0.07 to 11.1, p = .072), compared to the control condition.”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Results > Clinical caseness
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: The CES-D cutoff used adequately identifies clinical caseness of depression.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“At 6 month follow up, 43.5% in the web only condition and 50.0% in the web plus tracking condition met clinical caseness compared with 90.9% in the control condition.”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Results > Clinical caseness
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: The CES-D cutoff used adequately identifies clinical caseness of depression.
In the paper
“A range of software applications available on the web have also delivered effective CBT to depressed samples [11], reduced depression in school settings [12] and in general practice environments [13], [14], either with or without support from mental health professionals, paraprofessionals or teachers [11].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [13], [14]
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“A range of software applications available on the web have also delivered effective CBT to depressed samples [11], reduced depression in school settings [12] and in general practice environments [13], [14], either with or without support from mental health professionals, paraprofessionals or teachers [11].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [12] AL Calear, 2009, The YouthMood Project: A cluster randomized controlled trial of an online cognitive behavioral program with adolescents., Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“Over 40% of callers phone the service 20 times or more, 78% of callers experience depressive symptoms, and the prevalence of anxiety in this group is between 2 to 6 times that of the population [2], [3], [4].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [2], [3], [4]
Strength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“A range of software applications available on the web have also delivered effective CBT to depressed samples [11], reduced depression in school settings [12] and in general practice environments [13], [14], either with or without support from mental health professionals, paraprofessionals or teachers [11].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [11] KM Griffiths, 2010, The efficacy of internet interventions for depression and anxiety disorders: a review of randomised controlled trials., Med J Aust source
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“Based on reviews of the evidence, the provision of support or tracking (ongoing contact with users during an intervention) has been proposed to increase adherence to treatment, prevent dropout, and improve efficacy [6].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [6] V Spek, 2007, Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy for symptoms of depression and anxiety: a meta-analysis., Psychol Med source
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:conditional· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“Over 40% of callers phone the service 20 times or more, 78% of callers experience depressive symptoms, and the prevalence of anxiety in this group is between 2 to 6 times that of the population [2], [3], [4].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [2], [3], [4]
Strength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“Based on reviews of the evidence, the provision of support or tracking (ongoing contact with users during an intervention) has been proposed to increase adherence to treatment, prevent dropout, and improve efficacy [6].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [6] V Spek, 2007, Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy for symptoms of depression and anxiety: a meta-analysis., Psychol Med source
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:conditional· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“Based on reviews of the evidence, the provision of support or tracking (ongoing contact with users during an intervention) has been proposed to increase adherence to treatment, prevent dropout, and improve efficacy [6].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [6] V Spek, 2007, Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy for symptoms of depression and anxiety: a meta-analysis., Psychol Med source
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:conditional· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“Both BluePages and MoodGYM have been shown to reduce depressive symptoms in community users [15].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Methods > Intervention and trial conditions
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [15] H Christensen, 2004, Delivering interventions for depression by using the internet: randomised controlled trial., British Medical Journal source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“A range of software applications available on the web have also delivered effective CBT to depressed samples [11], reduced depression in school settings [12] and in general practice environments [13], [14], either with or without support from mental health professionals, paraprofessionals or teachers [11].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [11] KM Griffiths, 2010, The efficacy of internet interventions for depression and anxiety disorders: a review of randomised controlled trials., Med J Aust source
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“Over 40% of callers phone the service 20 times or more, 78% of callers experience depressive symptoms, and the prevalence of anxiety in this group is between 2 to 6 times that of the population [2], [3], [4].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [2], [3], [4]
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“Evidence from Titov and colleagues suggests that treatments supported by professionals and non-professionals are equally effective in the treatment of depression [18].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [18] N Titov, 2010, Internet treatment for depression: a randomized controlled trial comparing clinician vs. technician assistance., PLoS One source
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“Depression symptoms were measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale [20] (CES-D), a widely used, 16 item scale with strong reliability and validity [20], [21], [22], [23], [24], [25], with a range of scores of 0 to 60.”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Methods > Measures
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [20], [21], [22], [23], [24], [25]
Load-bearingStrength:boosted· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Studies have estimated reasonable sensitivity (84%–93%) and specificity (69%–74%) of the CES-D using this cutoff [26], [27].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Methods > Measures
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [26], [27]
Strength:hedged· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“The telephone and the Internet have been used separately to effectively treat physical and mental health problems [6], [7], [8], [9].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [6], [7], [8], [9]
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“The effect sizes associated with the web interventions were large, with effects at post intervention and at 6 months equal to those reported for face to face clinician delivered CBT programs for depression [36] and online CBT programs delivered by professionals [37].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Discussion > Summary findings
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [36] AC Butler, 2006, The empirical status of cognitive-behavioral therapy: a review of meta-analyses., Clin Psychol Rev source
- Not checked yetcites [37] G Andrews, 2010, Computer Therapy for the Anxiety and Depressive Disorders Is Effective, Acceptable and Practical Health Care: A Meta-Analysis., PLoS ONE source
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“The current trial was a true effectiveness trial employing a volunteer workforce for recruitment and tracking, and hence would be expected to be associated with recruitment and adherence issues relative to the more controlled environment of an efficacy study [49].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Discussion > Limitations
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [49] BR Flay, 1986, Efficacy and effectiveness trials (and other phases of research) in the development of health promotion programs., Prev Med source
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Repeating these analyses under the conservative assumption that all participants who discontinued the trial (i.e. failed to complete a post intervention or follow-up questionnaire) retained their last assessed caseness status attenuated effects post intervention. However, 6 month follow-up effects retained, or only narrowly escaped, significance”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Results > Clinical caseness
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: The CES-D cutoff used adequately identifies clinical caseness of depression.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Intervention completion rates were lower in our study relative to some other trials of web-based treatments for depression [47] but not of other telephone-based services [48].”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Discussion > Limitations
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [47] H Christensen, 2009, Adherence in Internet interventions for anxiety and depression: Systematic review., Journal of Medical Internet Research source
- Not checked yetcites [48] WK Rhee, 2005, Efficacy of brief telephone psychotherapy with callers to a suicide hotline., Suicide Life Threat Behav source
Strength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“This suggests that call centres may be a particularly appropriate setting in which to place evidence-based web programs.”
§ Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial > Discussion > Summary findings
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:conditional· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✗ Checkable: fails✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Rests on an assumption: Helpline users prefer to treat themselves, manage their own health, and retain a greater sense of control over their treatment.

48 of 48

The authors state this as an assumption.
Missingness is either completely at random or at random conditional on observed data.
“Mixed modelling allows the use of all available data for each participant to yield unbiased estimates of effects under the assumption that missingness is either completely at random (MCAR) or at random conditional on observed data (MAR) [30].”
The paper relies on this without support.
No studies have directly compared the relative efficacy of an Internet-based self-help treatment monitored by non-professionals with a non-guided treatment.
“However, to-date, no studies have directly compared the relative efficacy of an Internet-based self-help treatment monitored by non-professionals (such as volunteer telephone counsellors) with a non-guided treatment.”
The paper relies on this without support.
No trials have evaluated the effectiveness of web based interventions within existing helpline or call centre services.
“To our knowledge, no trials have evaluated the effectiveness of web based interventions within existing helpline or call centre services.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Mainstream mental health services are often difficult to access because of cost, structured consultation times, waiting list length, and location, and may not inspire trust.
“However, mental health services are often difficult to access because of cost, structured consultation times, waiting list length, and location. In addition, mainstream mental health services may not inspire trust.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Volunteer counsellors constitute a ready made workforce to refer and/or guide callers, making it possible to use the existing call centre structure to deliver immediate, cost-effective, evidence-based help.
“Volunteer counsellors constitute a ready made workforce to refer and/or guide callers, making it possible to use the existing call centre structure to deliver immediate, cost-effective, evidence-based help.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The CES-D cutoff used adequately identifies clinical caseness of depression.
“depression caseness was estimated using a cutoff on the CES-D.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Helpline users prefer to treat themselves, manage their own health, and retain a greater sense of control over their treatment.
“Helpline users in particular may prefer to treat themselves, to manage their own health, and to retain a greater sense of control over their treatment.”
The paper relies on this without support.
High baseline depression symptom levels enabled greater change in symptoms from pre- to post-intervention.
“the high baseline depression symptom levels observed in this sample may have enabled greater change in symptoms from pre to post-intervention.”

8 of 8

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

ConsistentF(6, 100.5) = 2.97reported p = .01 · recomputed p = .010
“F(6,100.5) = 2.97, p = .01”
Consistentt(109.2) = -3.34reported p = 0 · recomputed p = .001
“t(109.2) = −3.34, p = .00”
Consistentt(109.5) = -2.23reported p = .03 · recomputed p = .028
“t(109.5) = −2.23, p = .03”
Consistentt(109.2) = 1.38reported p = .17 · recomputed p = .170
“t(109.2) = 1.38, p = .17”
Consistentt(105.8) = -2.16reported p = .03 · recomputed p = .033
“t(105.8) = −2.16, p = .03”
Consistentt(105.7) = -0.89reported p = .37 · recomputed p = .375
“t(105.7) = −0.89, p = .37”
Consistentt(105.4) = -1.35reported p = .18 · recomputed p = .180
“t(105.4) = −1.35, p = .18”
Consistentt(100.5) = -2.97reported p = 0 · recomputed p = .004
“t(100.5) = −2.97, p = .00”
Consistentt(100.7) = -1.43reported p = .16 · recomputed p = .156
“t(100.7) = −1.43, p = .16”
Consistentt(100) = -0.01reported p = 1 · recomputed p = .992
“t(100.0) = −0.01, p = 1.00”
Consistentt(100.3) = -3.16reported p = 0 · recomputed p = .002
“t(100.3) = −3.16, p = .00”
Consistentt(100.4) = -1.54reported p = .13 · recomputed p = .127
“t(100.4) = −1.54, p = .13”
Consistentt(100.7) = -1.74reported p = .09 · recomputed p = .085
“t(100.7) = −1.74, p = .09”
Consistentt(112.6) = -2.09reported p = .039 · recomputed p = .039
“t(112.6) = −2.09, p = .039”
Consistentt(109) = -1.98reported p = .051 · recomputed p = .050
“t(109.0) = −1.98, p = .051”
Consistentt(107.7) = -1.72reported p = .089 · recomputed p = .088
“t(107.7) = −1.72, p = .089”
Consistentt(107.7) = -2.83reported p = .006 · recomputed p = .006
“t(107.7) = −2.83, p = .006”
Consistentt(81) = 0.388reported p = .7 · recomputed p = .699
“t(81) = 0.388, p = .70”
Consistentt(81) = 0.728reported p = .47 · recomputed p = .469
“t(81) = 0.728, p = .47”

19 of 19

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

Tracking-only never-married percentage does not match the group size
Minor
Table 1 reports 7 never-married participants among 37 in the tracking-only group. That is 18.92%, which rounds to 19%, not 18%.
Reported 18 · recomputed 18.918919
Same comparison has two different effect sizes in Table 4
Minor
Table 4 labels two rows "Web with tracking vs control," but reports different effect sizes for that comparison at both time points. The fourth row appears to describe a different comparison.

2 of 2

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Additional file 2 of The impact of technology systems and level of support in digital mental health interventions: a secondary meta-analysis
Sasseville, M., LeBlanc, A., Tchuente, J., Boucher, M., Dugas, M., Mbemba, G. I. C., Barony, R., Chouinard, M., Beaulieu, M., Beaudet, N., et al. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.22767515
Additional file 7 of The impact of technology systems and level of support in digital mental health interventions: a secondary meta-analysis
Sasseville, M., LeBlanc, A., Tchuente, J., Boucher, M., Dugas, M., Mbemba, G. I. C., Barony, R., Chouinard, M., Beaulieu, M., Beaudet, N., et al. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.22767530
Additional file 3 of The impact of technology systems and level of support in digital mental health interventions: a secondary meta-analysis
Sasseville, M., LeBlanc, A., Tchuente, J., Boucher, M., Dugas, M., Mbemba, G. I. C., Barony, R., Chouinard, M., Beaulieu, M., Beaudet, N., et al. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.22767518
Additional file 4 of The impact of technology systems and level of support in digital mental health interventions: a secondary meta-analysis
Sasseville, M., LeBlanc, A., Tchuente, J., Boucher, M., Dugas, M., Mbemba, G. I. C., Barony, R., Chouinard, M., Beaulieu, M., Beaudet, N., et al. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.22767521
Additional file 6 of The impact of technology systems and level of support in digital mental health interventions: a secondary meta-analysis
Sasseville, M., LeBlanc, A., Tchuente, J., Boucher, M., Dugas, M., Mbemba, G. I. C., Barony, R., Chouinard, M., Beaulieu, M., Beaudet, N., et al. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.22767527
Additional file 5 of The impact of technology systems and level of support in digital mental health interventions: a secondary meta-analysis
Sasseville, M., LeBlanc, A., Tchuente, J., Boucher, M., Dugas, M., Mbemba, G. I. C., Barony, R., Chouinard, M., Beaulieu, M., Beaudet, N., et al. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.22767524
Additional file 1 of The impact of technology systems and level of support in digital mental health interventions: a secondary meta-analysis
Sasseville, M., LeBlanc, A., Tchuente, J., Boucher, M., Dugas, M., Mbemba, G. I. C., Barony, R., Chouinard, M., Beaulieu, M., Beaudet, N., et al. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.22767512
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Effectiveness of cognitive therapy via telephone with individual psychotherapy in major depression patients
Khunarak, U. (2013) · Journal of Mental Health of Thailand - วารสารสุขภาพจิต แห่งประเทศไทย · doi:10.14456/dmhjournal.2013.8

Authors: Farrer, L., Christensen, H., Griffiths, K. M., & Mackinnon, A.
Affiliations: Australian National University (AU)
The University of Melbourne (AU)
Corresponding author: Farrer, Louise
ORCID: Farrer, Louise
Christensen, Helen
Griffiths, Kathleen M.
Mackinnon, Andrew
Venue: PLoS ONE
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published: 2011-11-30
Volume: 6
Issue: 11
Pages: e28099
ISSN: 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0028099
PMC: PMC3227639
OpenAlex: W2038169816
Semantic Scholar: 95651e02415cb99ae8dabe6dec5bcd2aaa8a2b11
Cited by: 140
References: 58
Citations by year: 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 6
FWCI: 14.97
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: gold
doi.org
Licence: cc-by
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (unspecified)
Locations: PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders: Medical Research Council
Australian Research Council (LP0667970)
National Health and Medical Research Council (525413, 525411)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
Keywords: internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy, depression, telephone helpline, telephone counseling, online intervention, psychological distress, medication adherence
MeSH terms: Adult, Australia, Depression, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Male, Patient Compliance, Patient Dropouts, Patient Participation, Telephone, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Confidence Intervals, Internet

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Internet-Based CBT for Depression with and without Telephone Tracking in a National Helpline: Randomised Controlled Trial

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