Usefulness of Supportive Text Messages in the Treatment of Depressed Alcoholics

NCT01037868 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: UDublinTC
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 56
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Background: There is abundant evidence that rates of comorbidity between substance use and depression are high (1, 2) and the risk of poor outcome is higher among individuals with the dual disorder compared with those with a single disorder (3, 4, 5, 6). Previous research has shown that about 50% of persons studied with severe mental illness and past substance abuse are likely to have a recurrence of substance abuse within 1 year of discharge from treatment (7). There is therefore a clear clinical challenge in treating patients with the dual disorder which may calls for further research and the possible introduction of new and innovative strategies including the use of mobile phone technology to provide increased support for patients with the dual diagnosis. There are established research evidence for using Short Message Service (SMS) text messages to remind patients of scheduled medical appointments (8,9,10,12, 13), coordinate medical staff,(14) deliver medical test results,(15,16) , promote smoking cessation ( 17), improve self-monitoring among the youth with type 1 diabetes( 18), promote weight loss among obese subjects (19 ) and monitor patient side effects following treatment(20). Relevance of the research: To date, after an extensive review of the literature using MEDLINE, Pub Med, ERIC, Web of Science, Science Direct and PsycINFO, no studies was found on the use of SMS text messages as an intervention to address abstinence amongst alcohol dependent subjects who are co-morbid for a depressive disorder. Thus, the investigators seek to determine if text messaging is a useful and effective strategy to help maintain abstinence, improve adherence with medication and ultimately promote mental stability in depressed patients discharged from an in-patient dual diagnosis programme. The investigators hypothesize that, daily supportive/reminder SMS text messages to depressed patients discharged from an in-patient dual diagnosis programme would increase alcohol abstinence rates , improve medication adherence rates and improve the overall mental well being of patients compared with those receiving treatment as usual.

Conditions

Depression; Alcohol Use Disorder

Keywords

depression; alcohol dependency syndrome; dual diagnosis; SMS text messages

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Cumulative abstinence duration which would be measured using the TLFB and collateral reports

  measured at 3 months

• Becks Depression Inventory Score

  Measured at 3 Months

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Changes in gamma Glutamyl Transferase (Gamma GT) and Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) values from baseline

  3 months

• Global Assessment of Function Score, Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale Scores, Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale Score

  Measured at 3 Months

Study Arms (2)

Supportive SMS messages

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients in the intervention group would receive twice daily supportive SMS text messages for 3 months from the treating team which would encourage/motivate them to refrain from drinking alcohol and comply with their medication. They would also receive a fortnightly phone call from an unblinded member of the research/treating team which would only serve the purpose of confirming that they still uses the mobile phone and receive the text messages.

Other: Supportive SMS text messages

No supportive SMS text message

NO INTERVENTION

Patients in the non-intervention group would also receive text messages once every fortnight thanking them for participating in the study and a monthly phone call which would only serve the purpose of confirming that they still uses the mobile phone and receive the text messages.

Interventions

Supportive SMS text messages OTHER

Patients in the intervention group would receive twice daily supportive SMS text messages for 3 months from the treating team which would encourage/motivate them to refrain from drinking alcohol and comply with their medication. They would also receive a fortnightly phone call from an unblinded member of the research/treating team which would only serve the purpose of confirming that they still uses the mobile phone and receive the text messages.

Supportive SMS messages

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 64 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• All patients fulfilling the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual fourth edition(DSM IV) criteria for alcohol dependence and are co-morbid for a unipolar depression and who complete the in-patient dual diagnosis treatment programme.
• Patients must have an Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of at least 25
• All patients should have a mobile phone, be familiar with SMS text messaging technology and be willing to take part in the study.

You may not qualify if:

• Patients who do not consent to take part in the study.
• Patients who are blind, not able to read, do not have a mobile phone or are unable to use the mobile SMS technology.
• Patients who suffer from dipolar affective disorder.
• Patients with a history of psychosis or current diagnosis of psychotic disorder
• Poly-substances dependence or abuse but not misuse.
• Patients who would be unavailable for follow-up during the study period

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Dublin, Trinity College: lead
• St Patrick's Hospital, Ireland: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

St Patrick's University Hospital

Dublin, Ireland

Location

Related Publications (27)

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  PMID: 19135907 BACKGROUND

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  PMID: 7883738 BACKGROUND

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  BACKGROUND

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  BACKGROUND

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  PMID: 19141433 BACKGROUND

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  PMID: 15495883 BACKGROUND

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  BACKGROUND

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  PMID: 16648692 BACKGROUND

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  BACKGROUND

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  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depression; Alcoholism

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Alcohol-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Declan McLoughlin, PhD

  University of Dudlin Trinity College & St Patricks University Hospital

  STUDY CHAIR

• Conor Farren, PhD

  St Patrick's University Hospital

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Vincent IO Agyapong, MSc MRCPsych

  University of Dublin, Trinity College Dublin

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 22, 2009
• First Posted: December 23, 2009
• Study Start: September 1, 2009
• Primary Completion: January 1, 2012
• Study Completion: January 1, 2012
• Last Updated: March 28, 2013

Record last verified: 2013-03

Locations

IE (1)