NCT02384590

Brief Summary

Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) experience significant depressive symptoms that currently go unrecognized and under-treated. Further, depression in this patient population has the potential to contribute to high health care utilization and poor disease outcomes; however, there are currently no comparative effectiveness studies of evidenced-based mental health treatments for depression in SCD. The primary objective of this study is to test the effectiveness of an online computerized cognitive behavioral therapy intervention to address psychological and behavioral needs of patients with sickle cell disease, namely depression and pain symptoms. The investigators will implement an existing computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT) program called "Beating the Blues" into routine clinical care at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Adult Sickle Cell Clinic to determine the effectiveness of this intervention in decreasing depression and pain versus treatment as usual. Patients with significant distress-depression and/or anxiety symptoms-will be randomized to either eight sessions of a CCBT program and weekly follow-up with a care manager or treatment as usual where the treating physician is notified of the patient's symptoms. The investigators will evaluate patient acceptability, implementation and practicality of the online mental health intervention through patient use of the site (frequency and duration of visits), qualitative interviews, and surveys. The investigators hypothesize: 1) the CCBT will be an acceptable mental health treatment for patients and easily integrated into routine clinical care; 2) patients in the treatment arm will show a greater decrease in depression/anxiety symptoms and average daily pain than patients in usual care.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
30

participants targeted

Target at below P25 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Mar 2015

Typical duration for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

February 26, 2015

Completed
3 days until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

March 1, 2015

Completed
9 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

March 10, 2015

Completed
1.8 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

January 1, 2017

Completed
16 days until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

January 17, 2017

Completed
Last Updated

January 25, 2017

Status Verified

January 1, 2017

Enrollment Period

1.8 years

First QC Date

February 26, 2015

Last Update Submit

January 23, 2017

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Patient acceptability as measured by CCBT sessions completed

    Number of CCBT sessions completed while enrolled in study

    6-months

Study Arms (2)

CCBT + Care Manager Arm

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients will be given a tablet device with unlimited data. The device will be pre-installed with a pain and mood diary app that will prompt them to enter their pain severity (0-10), pain location, and mood (0-10), once a day. They will also be registered on to the Beating the Blues website and asked to use the tablet device to complete eight 1-hour Beating the Blues CBT sessions, over the next 3-months. They will also be introduced to a care manager who will contact them on a weekly basis by telephone and throughout the week by email or text, for one-month and then as needed for two additional months. At the conclusion of 3 months participants will only have care manager support upon request but are free to continue using the Beating the Blues program for as long as they like.

Behavioral: Computerized cognitive behavioral therapy

Treatment As Usual

NO INTERVENTION

Similar to the treatment arm, patients will be given a tablet device with unlimited data that comes pre-loaded with a pain and mood diary app. The app will prompt the usual care patients to complete diary data daily. No other activities are required as part of the study but the patients are free to use the tablet as much as they like for their own leisure. At the end of 3-months, patients who continue to report depressive or anxiety symptoms are invited to cross-over to the treatment arm where they will be registered for the Beating the Blues program and given care manger support.

Interventions

The "Beating the Blues" computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT) program is eight 50-minute online sessions that teach the participant how to better manage stress using cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. Cognitive behavioral therapy involves helping people change their thoughts and behaviors so they can limit the negative impact stress will have on their mood and pain experience.

Also known as: online cognitive behavioral therapy, Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy, Beating the Blues
CCBT + Care Manager Arm

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Male or female ≥18 years of age at baseline visit.
  • Documentation of a SCD diagnosis (HgbSS, HgbSC, SBeta +Thal; or SBeta oThal)
  • Receive routine care at the UPMC sickle cell clinic.
  • Scores indicative of clinically significant depression or anxiety on the stress/pain screener that is administered as part of routine SCD care to all patients. i.e. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) ≥ 10 and/or Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) ≥ 8

You may not qualify if:

  • \. Presence of a condition or abnormality (e.g. significant neurocognitive dysfunction) that in the opinion of the Investigator would compromise the safety of the patient or the quality of the data.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15237, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anemia, Sickle CellDepressionAnxiety Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Anemia, Hemolytic, CongenitalAnemia, HemolyticAnemiaHematologic DiseasesHemic and Lymphatic DiseasesHemoglobinopathiesGenetic Diseases, InbornCongenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and AbnormalitiesBehavioral SymptomsBehaviorMental Disorders

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 Medicine

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

February 26, 2015

First Posted

March 10, 2015

Study Start

March 1, 2015

Primary Completion

January 1, 2017

Study Completion

January 17, 2017

Last Updated

January 25, 2017

Record last verified: 2017-01

Locations