Bridging the Gap: Implementing BRIDGES

NCT07422909 | Enrolling By Invitation DMC

• 2 other identifiers: CCEMHAJRDIC-2 a-b-c
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Together with teenagers, we have developed a new approach: BRIDGES, which stands for "In Brussels, Resilience and Inclusion for Depression through Guidance, Exercise, and Support." BRIDGES aims to help young people with depression get moving again in their daily lives, at their own pace and in ways that are good for them.

Conditions

Inactive People; Depression

Keywords

Depression; Physical Activity; Adolescents; Community-level; Outpatient; Physiotherapy; Inactive; psychiatry

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Depressive symptoms

  Patient Health Questionnaire-9 modified for Adolescents (PHQ-A) The PHQ-A is a brief instrument modified to adolescents used to assess the severity of depression (41). It contains 9 items that are on a scale from 0 to 3, with the total score ranging from 0 to 27.

  Throughout the entire study, during approximately 15 months

• Physical activity levels

  Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS) The PAVS is a screening tool used to assess patients' physical activity levels (37). It consists of two questions: (a) on average, how many days per week do you engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity, and (b) on those days, how many minutes do you typically spend participating in moderate to vigorous physical activity? The product of these responses (days × minutes) provides an estimate of the patient's average weekly minutes of physical activity in moderate to vigorous physical activity.

  Throughout the entire study, during approximately 15 months

Secondary Outcomes (9)

• Depressive symptoms (larger evaluation)

  Throughout the entire study, during approximately 15 months

• Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS)

  Throughout the entire study, during approximately 15 months

• Adapted Exercise self-efficacy (SEE)

  Throughout the entire study, during approximately 15 months

• Astrand Rhyming test (ART)

  Throughout the entire study, during approximately 15 months

• Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)

  Throughout the entire study, during approximately 15 months

Other Outcomes (1)

• Implementation outcomes

  Throughout the entire study, during approximately 15 months

Study Arms (2)

The BRIDGES intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

The BRIDGES intervention comprises 18 individualized sessions delivered over 12 weeks, combining physiotherapist-led counselling with structured support to transition into community-based physical activity. Motivational interviewing techniques facilitate collaborative, non-judgmental dialogue, helping adolescents resolve ambivalence about physical activity. Through reflective listening and open-ended questions, physiotherapists guide participants to explore their values, goals, and motivations, fostering a sense of ownership over the behaviour change process. Drawing on the self-determination theory, counselling targets three key psychological needs.Relevant opportunities from the AREA+ network, including local sports clubs and initiatives, are introduced in ways that align with adolescents' interests and intrinsic motivation. All participating clubs and associations are carefully selected.

Behavioral: The BRIDGES (In Brussels, Resilience and Inclusion for Depression through Guidance, Exercise and Support) intervention

Waiting-list

NO INTERVENTION

Accordingly, the comparator group will be a waitlist control receiving usual care, allowing evaluation of the added benefit of the intervention within the existing care context. The usual standard outpatient care, which may include psychotherapy, medication management, or other usual clinical services. No structured physical activity intervention is provided.

Interventions

The BRIDGES (In Brussels, Resilience and Inclusion for Depression through Guidance, Exercise and Support) intervention BEHAVIORAL

Described above

The BRIDGES intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 12 Years - 19 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• All adolescents aged 12 to 19 with a diagnosis of depression who are receiving outpatient care through AREA+
• voluntary participation and accepting the randomisation
• being admitted at AREA+
• being able to stay focused for 30 minutes
• having a good knowledge of French
• physically inactive defined as not meeting the PA guidelines from World Health Organisation (28) following the corresponding age (i.e. at least 420 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) /week for those aged 12-17 and at least 150 min of MVPA /week for those aged 18 and 19 years
• living in Brussels

You may not qualify if:

• intellectual disability (defined as an intelligence quotient \< 70)
• participants with serious medical problems or medical precautions prohibiting higher-intensity exercise (e.g., severe metabolic disorders, oncologic disease, unstable diabetes) according to the recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Université Catholique de Louvain: lead
• KU Leuven: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

AREA+, Epsylon

Brussels, Uccle, 1180, Belgium

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Philippot, A., Coppens, M., Van Damme, T., Sluys, C., Francaux, M., Dubois, V., & Vancampfort, D. (2026). Combining the behavior change wheel framework with a co-design approach to develop an outpatient physical activity intervention for adolescents with depression: A blueprint. Manuscript accepted for publication.

  BACKGROUND

• Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2012). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change. Guilford press.

  BACKGROUND

• Philippot A, Dubois V, Lambrechts K, Grogna D, Robert A, Jonckheer U, Chakib W, Beine A, Bleyenheuft Y, De Volder AG. Impact of physical exercise on depression and anxiety in adolescent inpatients: A randomized controlled trial. J Affect Disord. 2022 Mar 15;301:145-153. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.01.011. Epub 2022 Jan 7.

  PMID: 35007642 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depression; Motor Activity; Sedentary Behavior

Interventions

Exercise; Palliative Care; Methods

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena; Patient Care; Therapeutics; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services; Investigative Techniques

Study Officials

• Arnaud Philippot, PhD

  UCLouvain and KU Leuven

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Marc Francaux, PhD

  Université Catholique de Louvain

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Masking Details: Person in charge of randomisation Stastitician in charge of analysis
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: This study will use a hybrid type 2 effectiveness-implementation randomized controlled trial design, allowing simultaneous evaluation of the BRIDGES intervention's impact on adolescents and the processes supporting its uptake in routine outpatient care. Implementation will be guided by the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model (PRISM) and the RE-AIM framework, which together provide a structured approach to assess how the intervention is delivered, adopted, and sustained across outpatient and community-based settings. This dual perspective enables a comprehensive understanding of both the intervention's effects and the factors influencing its successful integration into real-world clinical practice.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 4, 2026
• First Posted: February 20, 2026
• Study Start: March 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027
• Last Updated: June 18, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

BE (1)