Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
N/A
Study information
Scientific title
Acronym
Study hypothesis
In primary care many patients with emotional disorders repeatedly consult their GP and take time off work. Medication is often unsatisfactory for these patients, whilst specialised psychological help is usually unavailable or too costly. Research in Oxford has shown that emotional disorders in primary care can be effectively treated with a brief psychological treatment (problem-solving) given by psychiatrists or by GPs trained in the techniques. If this treatment is to be made widely available in primary care, it is desirable to train other health professionals as well as GPs. Community nurses seem well placed to receive such training.
The proposed study seeks to answer two questions:
1. Can community nurses be successfully trained in the techniques of problem-solving?
2. After training, how effectively can community nurses use problem-solving to treat patients with emotional disorders?
In Part One of the study, four community nurses will be trained in problem-solving and will then treat 10 patients each, under close supervision. The therapeutic techniques of the nurses will be evaluated by rating videotapes of their treatment sessions.
Part Two of the study will be a controlled clinical trial. The patients (n = 100) will have emotional disorders that have not resolved within one month of initial consultation with the GP. They will be randomly allocated to either problem-solving treatment from the trained nurses, or GPs' usual treatment. Interview and self-rated assessments of the patients psychiatric and social functioning will be made before treatment, after treatment, and at six months.
Ethics approval
Not provided at time of registration
Study design
Randomised controlled trial
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Randomised controlled trial
Trial setting
Not specified
Trial type
Not Specified
Patient information sheet
Condition
Mental and behavioural disorders: Depression, anxiety, neuroses
Intervention
1. Problem solving treatment from trained nurses
2. Usual treatment from GP
Intervention type
Other
Phase
Not Specified
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
Measures of clinical status and self report measures assessed before treatment, at the end of treatment (8 weeks) and at 6 month follow-up.
Secondary outcome measures
Not provided at time of registration
Overall trial start date
01/03/1993
Overall trial end date
12/01/1995
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
Patients with emotional disorders that have not been resolved within one-month of initial consultation with a GP.
Participant type
Patient
Age group
Not Specified
Gender
Not Specified
Target number of participants
100
Participant exclusion criteria
Not provided at time of registration
Recruitment start date
01/03/1993
Recruitment end date
12/01/1995
Locations
Countries of recruitment
United Kingdom
Trial participating centre
Department of Psychiatry
Oxford
OX3 7JX
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
Organisation
Record Provided by the NHS R&D 'Time-Limited' National Programme Register - Department of Health (UK)
Sponsor details
The Department of Health
Richmond House
79 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2NL
United Kingdom
Sponsor type
Government
Website
Funders
Funder type
Government
Funder name
NHS Mental Health National Research and Development Programme (UK)
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
Not provided at time of registration
Intention to publish date
Participant level data
Not provided at time of registration
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list
1997 results in http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9093498
Publication citations
-
Results
Mynors-Wallis L, Davies I, Gray A, Barbour F, Gath D, A randomised controlled trial and cost analysis of problem-solving treatment for emotional disorders given by community nurses in primary care., Br J Psychiatry, 1997, 170, 113-119.