Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
We put into place a new programme based on the chronic care model to improve the management of depression in primary care and compared its effectiveness with the usual care. The goal of the study was assessed the effectiveness of the new programme in terms of the severity of depression, response to treatment, remission of depression and quality of life related to health. We invite the reader to watch an informative video http://vimeo.com/34126848 and to visit our web page www.projecteindi.cat
Who can participate?
Participants were 338 adult patients, age 18 years or over, from 20 primary care centres of the Catalan Health System in Spain, with diagnostic criteria for major depressive episode according to DSM-IV, who had not taken antidepressants in the last three months and were willing to take antidepressants.
What does the study involve?
Over a period of two years, we recruited 149 patients into the control group (usual care) and 189 in the intervention group (new programme). We compared the effectiveness of the two treatments. The treatment in the new programme involved clinical, educational and organisational procedures including primary care nurses who worked as care-managers. Outcomes were measured at 0, 3, 6 and 12 months.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The study confirmed that the new programme was more effective than the usual care and showed an improvement of the clinical outcomes of depression in the short (3 and 6 months) and long terms (12 months).
Where is the study run from?
20 primary care centres of the Catalan Health System in the province of Tarragona in Spain.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
Recruitment of patients took two years, from June 2007 to June 2009. Results were analysed one year after the recruitment of the last patient in June 2010.
Who is funding the study?
Carlos III Health Institute of the Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumption (Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias- Instituto de Salud Carlos III - Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo) and the Catalan Institute of Health (Institut Català de la Salut), Spain.
Who is the main contact?
Dr Enric Aragonès
earagones.tarte.ics@gencat.cat
Trial website
Contact information
Type
Scientific
Primary contact
Dr Enric Aragonès
ORCID ID
Contact details
Centre d'Atenció Primària de Constantí
Carrer dels Horts
6
Constantí
43120
Spain
+34 (0)977 524 109
earagones.tarte.ics@gencat.net
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
PI060176
Study information
Scientific title
Assessment of an enhanced program for depression management in primary care: cluster randomised controlled trial
Acronym
INDI (INterventions for Depression Improvement)
Study hypothesis
The implementation of a structured programme for managing depression will provide better health outcomes for individual patients than usual primary care management.
Ethics approval
Research Ethics Committee of the Jordi Gol i Gurina Primary Care Research Institute (IDIAP) Jordi Gol i Gurina, Barcelona, 29/03/2006, ref: P06/16
Study design
Cluster-randomised controlled trial (cluster: primary care medical centres)
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Cluster randomised trial
Trial setting
Hospitals
Trial type
Treatment
Patient information sheet
Condition
Moderate to severe, or mild persistent, episode of Major Depression (DSM-IV) who initiate a new antidepressant treatment episode.
Intervention
Two groups, one of which is a control group comprising patients receiving usual primary care management and the other is the intervention group comprising patients on a structured programme for treating depression.
Intervention group:
Implementation of a multicomponent programme for managing depression. It includes training for the general practitioners (eight hours workshop and periodical follow-ups) and availability of evidence-based clinical guidelines based on the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) depression guideline. It also includes care managers, role developed by staff primary care nurses trained to provide educational and emotional support for the patients, to promote treatment adherence and to provide active and systematic clinical monitoring. The program establishes a minimal number of structured visits: in the acute phase, one week after the incorporation and later monthly up to obtaining the remission; in the continuation phase will be every two months; nevertheless, the plan of follow-up visits will be individualised. The optimal supervision and consultation mechanisms will be implemented with the psychiatric level.
Control group:
Usual primary care management.
Intervention type
Other
Phase
Not Applicable
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
1. Severity of the depressive symptoms at three, six and 12 months
2. Response rate at three, six and 12 months
3. Remission rate (Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9]) at three, six and 12 months
Secondary outcome measures
1. Health-related quality of life (Short Form health survey [SF-12])
2. Satisfaction
3. Medical care conformity with clinical guidelines
4. Adherence to treatment
5. Use of resources
6. Costs
Overall trial start date
01/01/2007
Overall trial end date
31/12/2009
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
1. Primary care patients over 18 years of age
2. An episode of major depression (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders - fourth edition [DSM-IV]), moderate to severe, or persistently mild
3. Who need to initiate anti-depressant treatment
Participant type
Patient
Age group
Adult
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
396 patients, 20 primary care centres
Participant exclusion criteria
1. Limitations that prevent the participation (e.g., severe illness, language limitations, etc)
2. Bipolar disorder
3. Psychotic disorder
4. Dependence of alcohol or drugs
5. Pregnancy or lactation
Recruitment start date
01/06/2007
Recruitment end date
01/06/2009
Locations
Countries of recruitment
Spain
Trial participating centre
Centre d'Atenció Primària de Constantí
Constantí
43120
Spain
Sponsor information
Organisation
Jordi Gol i Gurina Primary Care Research Institute (Institut D'Investigació en Atenció Primària) (IDIAP) (Spain)
Sponsor details
Fundacio Jordi Gol i Gurina
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes
587 àtic
Barcelona
08007
Spain
+34 (0)93 482 41 24
jgola@fundaciojgol.org
Sponsor type
Government
Website
Funders
Funder type
Government
Funder name
Health Research Fund - Carlos III Health Institute of the Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumption (Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias - Instituto de Salud Carlos III-Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo) (Spain)
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
2012 results in: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23062747
Publication citations
-
Results
Aragonès E, Piñol JL, Caballero A, López-Cortacans G, Casaus P, Hernández JM, Badia W, Folch S, Effectiveness of a multi-component programme for managing depression in primary care: a cluster randomized trial. The INDI project., J Affect Disord, 2012, 142, 1-3, 297-305, doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2012.05.020.