Using Caring Contacts to Reduce Psychiatric Morbidity Following Hospitalization During the COVID-19 Pandemic

NCT04456062 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 1804
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 102
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Subjects will be recently discharged patients from Sunnybrook Inpatient Psychiatry Unit. Subjects will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either the Caring Contact intervention or usual care. 75 subjects will be enrolled in each arm. In additional to usual discharge-related care, subjects in the caring contact group will receive brief emails that convey a message of hope and provide resources. These emails will be sent on days 4, 21, and 56 post-discharge. The specific content of these emails will be pre-determined varying slightly by time point. In contrast, the control group will only receive usual discharge-related care, including discharge planning and also a sheet of resources normally provided to patients. A widely used and validated measure will be employed to assess depression and anxiety symptoms. The 25-item self-report Hopkins Symptom Checklist will be emailed to all subjects at baseline, day 4, 21, and 56 post-discharge, along with the Caring Contact communication. It is hypothesized that there will be a significantly greater reduction in mental health symptoms among patients receiving Caring Contacts compared to those who receive usual care.

Conditions

Psychiatric Hospitalization

Keywords

Caring Contacts; Suicide Prevention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25)

  The HSCL-25 is a widely-used and validated self-report questionnaire using a Likert scale to measure symptoms of anxiety and depression. Change scores in anxiety and depression will be used to assess effectiveness of intervention.

  Baseline, day 4, day 21, day 56 post-discharge

Study Arms (2)

Caring Contacts Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Other: Caring Contacts

Standard Treatment Group

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

Caring Contacts OTHER

Caring Contacts are brief email communications sent to the patient post-discharge. They convey messages of hope, support, promote a sense of belonging, and provide information on resources for care. They are not written uniquely for each patient but are purposefully crafted to intervene on those specific vulnerabilities that form the core of many patients' experiences with intense emotional distress and suicidal thoughts.

Caring Contacts Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Provision of written informed consent
• Inpatient status in Sunnybrook Inpatient Psychiatry Unit at time of recruitment
• Have an email or mailing address
• Ability to read and understand English
• The ability to understand and comply with the requirements of the study and capable of providing informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• A primary Major Neurocognitive Disorder diagnosis

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre: lead

Study Sites (1)

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Toronto, Ontario, M4N 3M5, Canada

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Holman S, Steinberg R, Sinyor M, Lane H, Starritt K, Kennedy SH, Niederkrotenthaler T, Zaretsky A, Castel S, Schaffer A. Caring Contacts to Reduce Psychiatric Morbidity Following Hospitalization During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Can J Psychiatry. 2023 Mar;68(3):152-162. doi: 10.1177/07067437221121111. Epub 2022 Aug 22.

  PMID: 35996823 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Suicide Prevention

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Suicide; Self-Injurious Behavior; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Study Officials

• Ayal Schaffer, MD

  Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Rosalie Steinberg, MD

  Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Staff Psychiatrist

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 30, 2020
• First Posted: July 2, 2020
• Study Start: August 4, 2020
• Primary Completion: July 31, 2021
• Study Completion: July 31, 2021
• Last Updated: August 24, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-08

Locations

CA (1)